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STATE-BOOK 

OF 

PENNSYLYANIA, 

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

(^eograplig, ^istorn, ©ODermnent, Hcsonrccs, anb Notcb 
Citizens of t!)c State ; 

WITH 
A MAP OF THE STATE AND OF EACH COUNTY. 

BY THOMAS H. BURROWES. 




LIBRARY EDITION. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
URIAH HUNT & SON, 44 N. FOURTH ST. 




1847 

■if 






\ 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1846, by 

T. H. BURROWES, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of 

Pennsylvania. 



STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

PRINTED BY J. VAN COURT. 



PEEFACE. 



A BOOK calculated to impart to our youth a full and accurate know 
ledge of their own state, has long been deemed necessary. Whether this 
will supply the want, experience alone can determine. 

Consisting, as it almost wholly does, of a description of things, and a 
statement of facts, there is no room for invention and little for novelty in 
its composition. In the scope and arrangement of its materials, however, 
a considerable departure from the beaten track will be discovered. 

The counties are not treated in alphabetical order, but in classes, accord- 
ing to their form of surface, productions, and historical relation. The 
strongly marked distinctive features of each group suggested this idea ; 
and a desire to aid the learner by a rational and easily remembered divi- 
sion of the subject of study induced its adoption. To carry out the design, 
a small state map, in addition to the separate county maps, has been con- 
structed mth the classes of counties marked upon it. The advantage of 
the change must be very small, if it do not compensate the learner for the 
loss of that easiness of reference, which is the only sound reason that can 
be urged in favour of the alphabetical arrangement. 

Should the book succeed, it is designed to keep it up with the changes 
that are continually occurring in the state, by regular periodical revisions. 
These will also afford an opportunity for correcting any errors that may 
have found their way into this edition. Notices of such errors will at all 
times be thankfully received by 

The Author. 

Lancaster, July, 1846. 



TO TEACHERS. 



This book is intended to suit different classes of pupils, and both modes 
of study — that of committing the words to memory, as well as that of 
merely impressing their substance on the mind. 

Young pupils should commit so much of the first eight and of the last 
three divisions of the introductory matter, as is in large type, together with 
the first seven paragraphs of the descriptive matter of each of the counties. 
These altogether constitute about forty pages. 

More advanced classes should learn all the parts in large type, forming 
about ninety pages. 

The portion in smaller type is not intended to be committed to memory 
at all, but to be carefully studied by the most advanced classes. Or, it 
may be profitably used once or twice a week as a reading exercise. 

But, whether committed to memory, carefully studied, or merely read 
in class, the use of the questions at the foot of each page is in all cases 
recommended. In committing to memory, they will cause the mind to act 
— in studying, they will give the learner a standard by which his own 
proficiency may be ascertained — and even in reading, the knowledge that 
an examination is to follow, will fix the attention and improve the mind. 

The county maps require no remark. The state map is merely a skele- 
ton, designed, 1. To exhibit to the eye the seven classes of counties ; and 
2. To ascertain the pupil's knowledge of the respective counties by caus- 
ing him to point them out with their county-seats, mountains, and streams, 
the names of all which have been for this purpose omitted. 
6 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Index and Synopsis of the Counties ------ g 

I. SiTTJATiox and Extent of the State - - - . 9 

II. Mountains -------- iq 

in. Rivers and Lakes ------- 13 

IV. Soil 15 

V. Cltjiate -------- 17 

VI. History ---------20 

VII. Population ---_-.-- 27 
VIII. Government - - - - - - - -31 

IX. Defence -------- 37 

X. Education - -_----- 40 

XI. Religion 42 

XII. Charitable Institutions ----- 44 

XIII. Prisons 46 

XIV. Property and Productions ----- 48 
XV. Animals 50 

XVI. Agriculture --------54 

XVII. Manufactures ------- 60 

XVIII. Commerce 63 

XIX. Public Improvements ------ 68 

XX. Towns 71 

XXI. Counties and Townships ----- 73 
XXII. Natural Divisions — General Remarks on the Seven Classee 74 

First Class, or South-Eastern Counties - - - 94 

Second Class, or Cumberland Valley Counties - - 140 

Third Class, or Anthracite Mountain Counties - - 168 

Fourth Class, or Iron Mountain Counties - - - 193 

Fifth Class, or Bituminous Mountain Counties - - 227 

Sixth Class, or Western Counties - - - - 241 

Seventh Class, or Northern Line Counties - - 289 



Q^- To find the pages of the counties, see the first column of the table 
on the next page. 

7 



INDEX AND SYNOPSIS OF THE COUNTIES. 



N 


NAMES 


1^ 


" Hi 


^"o 


PBOPER- 


COUNTY 


NEAREST 


Jl ^ 


§ a " * 


OF 


H 


<s 


p ^^ 


T7 IN 






P 2l§ 


^iSS 




COUNTIES. 


k 




1B45. 


TOWNS. 


BTRBAM. 


n^ 


H rt tti p 


137 


Adams . . . 


1800 


530 


.3,044 


4,339,531 


Gettysburg . 


Rock creek . 


1,908 


36 S. 


256 


Allegheny . 




1788 


750 


81,235 


14,669,025 


Pittsburg . . 


Ohio .... 


21,115 


200 W. 


266 


Armstrong . 




1800 


625 


f&.oOO 


1,618,8011 


Kittanning . 


Allegheny . . 


702 


186 W. 


283 


Beaver . 




ISOO 


650 


29,368 


4,073,824 


Beaver . . 


Ohio. . . . 


551 


230 W. 


203 


Bedford . 




1771 


1300 


25,089 


3,050,000 


Bedford . . 


Rays Town B. 


1,022 


102 W. 


147 


Berks . 




1752 


920 


64,569 


19,874,816 


Heading . . 


Schuylkill . . 


8,410 


52 E. 


206 


Blair . . 




1846 


650 


20,250 


3,440,000 


Hollidaysburg 
'I'owanda . . 


Juniata . . . 


1,896 


115N.W. 


298 


Bradford 




1810 


1170 


32,769 


3,070,784 


North Branch 


912 


163 N. 


117 


Bucks . 




1682 


600 


48,107 


14,703,067 


Doylestown . 


Neshaminy . 


90b 


100 K. 


2K0 


Euller . 




1800 


780 


22.378 


2,361,289 


Butler . . . 


Conequenessing 


861 


205 W. 


230 


Cambria 




1S04 


6-?0 


11,2:^6 


770,587 


Ebensburj . 


Black Lick . 


353 


134 W. 


173 


Carbon . 




1843 


400 


7,500 


1,291,319 


Mauch Chunk 


Lehigh . . . 


1,200 


99 N. E. 


2!3 


Centre . 




1800 


1000 


20,45-2 


4,980,213 


Bellefonle . 


Bald Eagle c. 


1,032 


85 N.W. 


113 


Chester . 




1682 


740 


57,515 


18,655,753 


West Chester 


Brandywine . 


2,152 


71 E. 


272 


Clarion . 






600 


9,500 


1,294,796 


Clarion . . 


Clarion . . . 


500 


187 N.W. 


233 


Clearfield 




1804 


1200 


7,834 


798,329 


Clearfield. . 


West Branch . 


300 


127 N,W. 


236 


Clinton . 




1839 


lOoO 


8,323 


1,588,628 


Lock Haven . 


West Branch . 


600 


118 N.W. 


219 


Columbia 




1813 


575 


24,267 


4,260,914 


Danville . . 


North Branch 


1,000 


68 N. 


277 


Crawford 




1800 


975 


31,724 


2,881,388 


Meadville . 


French creek . 


1,319 


237 N.W. 


160 


Cumberland . 


1750 


550 


30,953 


9,092,674 


Carlisle . . 


Conedoguinet . 


4,351 


18 W. 


154 


Dauphin . . . 


1785 


530 


30,118 


8,197,491 


Harrisburg . 


Susquehanna . 


5,980 




109 


Delaware . . 


1789 


180 


19,791 


7,264,721 


Chester . . 


Delaware . . 


1,000 


100 S. E. 


238 


Elk . . 




1843 


800 


2,000 


367,910 


Ridgway . . 


Clarion . . . 


200 


150 N.W. 


311 


Erie . . 




1800 


720 


31,344 


3,428,588 


Kril . . . 


Lake Erie . . 


3,412 


275 N-WJ 


241 


Fayette . 




1783 


800 


33,574 


4,304,034 


Unionlown . 


Redstone creek 


1,710 


184 S. W' 


164 


Franklin 




1781 


740 


37,793 


11,600,143 


Chambers burg 


Conecochtague 


3,239 


48 S. W. 


215 


Greene . 




1796 


600 


19,147 


2,191,592 


Waynesburg . 


Ten Mile creek 


600 


222 S. W. 


209 


Huntingdon 




1787 


730 


19,481 


4,973.085 


Huntingdon . 


Juniata . . . 


1,145 


90 N.W. 


1263 


Indiana . 




UOS 


775 


20,782 


2,142,176 


Indiana . . 


TurL.ckcreeft 


674 


150 N.W. 


269 


Jeflerson 




1804 


950 


7,253 


821,298 


Brookville . 


Red Bank . , 


276 


167 N.W. 


197 


Juniata . 




1831 


350 


11,080 


2,498,930 


Mifflintown . 


Juniata . . . 


420 


43 N.W. 


125 


Lancaster 




1729 950 


84,203 


27,561,973 


Lancaster , . 


Conestoga . . 


8.417 


36 S. E. 


151 


Lebanon . 




1813 


300 


21,872 


7,237,563 


Lebanon . . 


Quitapahilla . 


1,S60 


25 E. 


144 


Lehi:;h . 




1S12 


350 


25,787 


8,367,110 


AUentown . 


Lehii;h . . . 


2,493 


87 N. F.. 


I8A 


Luzerne . 




1786 


1400 


33,000 


4.825,081 


Wilkeibarre. 


North Branch 


1,718 


115 N. E. 


1222 


Lycoming 




1795 


i5ro 


22,649 


3,787,874 


Williamsport 


West Branch . 


1,353 


96 N. 


306 


M-Kean . 




1S04 


1100 


2,5f!0 


502,643 


Smethport . 


Potato creek . 


40O 


210 N.W. 


286 


Mercer . 




181 10 


775 


32,873 


3,733,742 


Mercer . . 


Neshannock . 


781 


238 N.W. 


1S9 


Mifflin . 




1789 


370 


13,092 


3,827,454 


Lewistown , 


Juniala . . . 


2,058 


65 N.W. 


176 


Monroe . 




1836 


600 


9.879 


1,422,309 


Slroudsburg . 


Brodhead's c. . 


407 


130 N. E. 


121 


Montsomery . 


1784 


450 


47,241 


14.298,100 


Norristown . 


SchuvlkiU. . 


2,937 


90 E. 


140 


Noilhampton . 


1752 


370 


34,000 


12,005,718 


Easton. . . 


Delaware . . 


4,865 


105 N. E. 


ISO 


Northumberlani 


1772 


500 


20,027 


4,035,605 


Sunbury . . 


Susquehanna . 


1,108 


52 N. 


193 


Perry . . . 


1820 


540 


17,096 


2,895,758 


Bloomfield . 


Little Juniata c. 


412 


25 N.W. 


94 


Philadelphia . 


1682 


120 


258,037 


116,9!i5,697 


Philadelphia . 


Delaware . . 


93,665 


100 E. 


289 


Pike . . . . 


1814 


600 


3.832 


670,403 


Mil ford . . 


Delaware . . 


400 


160 N. E. 


303 


Potter . . . 


1804 


1100 


3,371 


582,621 


Coudersport . 


Allegheny . . 


400 


175 N.W. 


168 


Schuylkill . . 


ISII 


750 


29,053 


5,943,678 


Orwigsburg . 


Schuylkill . . 


779 


62 N. E. 


227 


Somerset . . 


1795 


1050 


19,650 


2,370,078 


Somerset . . 


Cox's creek . 


638 


139 W. 


295 


Susquehanna . 


1810 


800 


21,195 


2,141,095 


Montrose . . 


Wyalusing. . 


632 


169 N. E. 


301 


Tioga . . . 


1804 


1100 


15,498 


1,394,449 


Welhborough 


Pine creek. . 


369 


145 N. 


216 


Union . . . 


1813 


550 


22,787 


5,235,053 


New Berlin . 


Penn's creek . 


679 


60 N. 


274 


Venango. . . 


1800 


850 


14,600 


1,109,403 


Franklin . . 


Allegheny . . 


595 


213 N.W. 


308 


Warren . . . 


1800 


800 


9,278 


91.5,739 


Warren . . 


Alleaheny . . 


737 


2.50 N.W. 


248 


Washington . 


1781 


850 


41,279 


7,172,092 


Washington . 


Chartier's creek 


2,062 


210 W, 


292 


Wayne . . , 


1798 


700 


11,848 


1,166,790 


Honesdale . 


Lackawaxen . 


1,086 


160 N.E. 


253 


Westmoreland 


1773 


1000 


42.699 


5,312,068 


Greensburg . 


Sewickly . . 


SCO 


now. 


ISO 


Wyoming . . 


1842 


4O0 


8,500 


877,782 


Tunkhannock 


North Branch 


300 


14CN. E. 


133 


York . r . . 


1749 


925 


47,010 


9,310,100 


York , . . 


Codorus . . 


4,779 


24 S. 



STATE-BOOK 



OF 



PENNSYLYANIA. 



I. SITUATION AND EXTENT. 

1. Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America, 
lies between 39 degrees 42 minutes, and 42 degrees 
15 minutes, north latitude ; and 2 degrees 18 minutes 
east, and 3 degrees 32 minutes west longitude from 
Washington. 

2. It is bounded on the east by New Jersey and New 
York ; north by New York ; west by Lake Erie, Ohio, 
and Virginia; and south by Virginia, Maryland, and 
Delaware. 

3. Its shape is a regular oblong ; its length is 310 miles ; 
its breadth is 160 miles ; and its entire area about 47,000 
square miles, or 30,000,000 of acres of land. 

4. Its seat of government is Harrisburg, and its chief 
commercial cities are Pldladelphin and Pittsburg. 

5. The word Pennsylvania is composed of the name of Peim, 
the founder of the state, and the Latin word sylva, which means a 
loood or forest., to which are added the letters nm, a termination 
used in Latin to show that the word of which they form part is the 
name of a land^ or country. The whole, therefore, means Penri's 
Forest country, a term quite applicable to its appearance when 
granted to William Penn, in 1681, by King Charles the Second of 
England. 

6. A State, in our sense of the word, is a member of the great 
North American Union, with all the rights and powers of a sove- 



1 . What is the latitude and longi- 
tude of Pennsylvania ? 

2. How is it bounded? 

3. What is its shape, length, 
breadth, and area? 



4. Nanie its chief towns. 

5. What is the origin of the word 
Pennsiflvania ? 

6. What is a State? 



9 



10 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



reign and independent nation, except such as have heen intrusted 
to the g-eneral government of the Union for the protection and benefit 
of all the states united. 

7. The powers thus transferred are chiefly those that relate to war 
and peace ; intercourse and commerce with foreign nations ; coin- ■ 
ing money ; post-offices ; naturalization of foreigners ; patenting; 
new inventions, &c. 

8. The original thirteen states of the Union were generally 
divided into the Eastern^ or New England states ; the Middle states; 
and the Southern states. Under this distribution, Pennsylvania 
was really a Middle state. But, owing to the immense extension 
of the Union that has since taken place to the west and south, 
she is not now actually a middle state, though still so called. To 
indicate the new states, formed in the west since the Revolution, a 
fourth class or division has been added, called the IVesfern states. 
Those that have been created on the extreme south are still classed 
with the Southern states. 

9. From her original middle position, having six of the old states 
on each side of her; from the fact, that, in a geographical point of 
view, she really connected those portions together, her south-east- 
ern corner being washed by the tide-waters of the Atlantic, and 
her north-western by Lake Erie, which separates that part of the 
Union from Canada; and from her devotion to the preservation 
of the Union of the states, which has always been conspicuous and 
effective, she early acquired the name of the Keystone state, as 
being the point on which rests the weight, and by which is pre- 
served the safety of the federal arch. 

10. Let it be the duty as well as the pride of her children, to 
retain for her this proud appellation. 



II. MOUNTAINS. 

1. The chief mountains of Pennsylvania are the JJp-paU 
a'chian chain, more commonly called the AUle-ghen'ics. 

2. They enter the middle of the state, from Virginia 
and Maryland on the south, principally in Bedford and 
Somerset counties; and running, first, in a northerly direc- 
tion with close regular ranges, then spread out with a wide 
sweep towards the north-east. 

3. As they approach the north, their ranges become de- 



7. What are the powers transferred 
to the United States ? 

['. What are the divisions of the 
States, and to which does Pennsyl- 
vania belong ? 

9. What is Pennsylvania called, 
and why ? 



10. What is the duty of her sons ? 

1. Which are the chief mountains 
of Pennsylvania? 

2. What is their situation and di- 
rection ? 

3. What change do they undergo 
as they approach the north ? 



MOUNTAINS. 



11 



pressed in height, and more scattered from each other, are 
finally broken into large irregular hills in the northern tier 
of counties, and wholly disappear in the adjacent counties 
of New York. 

4. Some of their ranges that tend to the north-east tra- 
verse the states of New Jersey and New York, and either 
strike the Atlantic coast in New Jersey, or cross the Hud- 
son into New England. 

5. Their height varies from 1500 to 2500 feet above the 
level of the Atlantic. 

6. The several mountains composing this chain are 
kno^vn by various names in different parts of the state. 
These will be stated in describing the respective counties. 

7. The intervening valleys of the Al-le-ghen'ies are, in 
the south and east, deep and narrow, but many of them in 
the middle and north are broad and fertile. 

8. The South Mountain lies on the south-east of the Al- 
le-ghen'ies, and about twenty miles from their exterior 
ridge, w^hich is called the Kit-ta-tin'ny mountain, and 
sometimes the JVorth and sometimes the Blue mountain ; 
It follows the general course of the Kittatinny, from the 
Maryland to the New Jersey line, forming the south-east 
boundary of the great Cumberland valley. 

9. The mountainous portion of Pennsylvania forms fully 
one-third of its whole area, or 16,000 square miles. One- 
half of the remainder is of a hilly, or broken character, and 
the other has a gently rolling surface. Little of the state 
is perfectly level land. 

10. Though the Ap-pal-a'chian chain chiefly terminates towards the 
north, within this st:ite, it extends southwardly to a great distance, 
having its southern termination in Alabama. In fact, it forms the 
eastern boundary of the great valley of the Mississippi^ the western 
being composed of the Rocky Mountains. 

11. It is not to be understood"that the whole of the mountainous 
portion of Pennsylvania is unfit for cultivation. On the contrary, 
some of our finest valleys and most productive lands are embraced 



4. What is remarked of those that 
tend to the north-east ? 

5. What is their o;eneraI height ? 

6. Are they known by various 
names ? 

7. What is said of the valleys ? 

8. Describe the South Mountain. 



9. What proportion of the state is 
mountainous, hilly, and rolling ? 

10. What is said of the whole Ap- 
palachian chain ? 

1 1 . How much of the state is wholly 
mountainous ? 



-V 



12 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



in this region. Probably, therefore, not more than one-sixth of the 
state, if so much, is wholly unfit for the purposes of agriculture. 

12. Nor is it to be supposed that the most barren ridges, over 
which a plough will never pass, are valueless. Providence has 
wisely and kindly formed them differently. Many of them contain, 
within their rugged bosoms, immense and most valuable deposits 
of coal, iron, and limestone. They are clothed with forests of all 
the kinds of timber useful in the arts. They are penetrated in every 
direction by rivers and streams, which may be used either to pro- 
pel machinery, or convey to market the minerals and lumber found 
on their banks. And, as has just been stated, these streams traverse 
some of the most fertile valleys in the state. 

13. When all these advantages are taken in view, it is only rea- 
sonable to conclude, that, in a few years, the mountainous part of 
Pennsylvania will contain a population equal in number and pros- 
perity to that of any portion of the state. 

14. The scenery of many parts of the mountainous portion of the 
state, particularly where the mountain ranges are either cut through, 
or skirted by large streams, is of a character for grandeur, wildness, 
variety, and beauty, rarely surpassed. Many of our citizens are in 
the habit of making long journeys into other parts of the Union, or 
even to foreign countries, for the sole purpose of beholding their 
boasted landscapes, without suspecting that within the bounds of 
their own Commonwealth, there may be views worth a visit. 

15. In this particular, as in every other, it is a good rule to inform 
curse] ves thoroughly in all that relates to our native country, before we 
travel into foreign lands to become acquainted with their appearance 
or condition. The American tourist along the Rhine or in Egypt, 
who is unable to describe to an intelligent foreigner his own Nia- 
gara, or Mississippi, or White Mountains, much less the resources 
and institutions of his own state and the Union, will be set down, 
at once, either as deficient in love of country, or as having com- 
menced his travels without due preparation. 

16. The whole scenery along the Juniata — many noble and com- 
manding views from the summits of the Alleghenies — the numerous 
rich landscapes in Cumberland Valley, from various points on the 
Aittatinny — those presented by Wyoming Valley from the sur- 
rounding mountains — the Delaware and Lehigh Water Gaps — the 
scenery below Clark's Ferry and about Northumberland on the 
Susquehanna, with very many others that might be named, would 
justify a journey by a Pennsylvanian, without detracting in the least 
from his reputation for good taste or right feeling. 



12. Are the mountains valueless ? 

13. What may be expected in a few 
years ? 

14. TVJiat is said of our sce?iery ? 



15. What is a good rule for tra- 
vellers ? 

16. Name some views in Fennsyl' 
vania worth visiting. 



RIVERS AND LAKES. 



13 




View of the Susquehanna River at Northumberland. . 
III. RIVERS AND LAKES. 

1. The chief rivers of Pennsylvania all rise in the Al- 
le-ghen'y mountains, and therefore possess the quaUties of 
mountain streams, being rapid in their descent, liable to 
sudden changes of high and low water, and only per- 
manently navigable for a short distance near their 
mouths. 

2. Those of the first class are the Del'a-ware in the 
east ; the Sus-que-han'na in the middle ; and the Al4e- 
ghen'y and Mon-on-ga-hdla^ forming the 0-hi'o, in the 
west. 

3. The second class are the Schuylkill and Le'high, fall- 
ing into the Del'a-ware; the Ti-o'ga^ West-hranch., and Ju- 
7n-atfa, into the Sus-que-han'na ; and the French-creek, Clar'- 
i-on, Kis-ke-min-e'taSj Yough-io-ghen'y, and Beaver, tribu- 
taries of the Ohio. 

4. The third class, sometimes called rivers and some- 



L What is the general character 
of the Pennsylvania rivers? 



Name those of the first class. 
Of the second. 



14 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



times creeks, are the Lack-aio-a'xen and Brandywine, in the 
east; Co7i-es-to'ga, Co?i-e-wa'ga, Con-e-co-cheagne' , and 
Castleman'^s, in the south ; Ma-ha-noy' , Pennh-creek^ Con- 
ed-o-guin'et, Raystown-branch, Loy-al-han'na^ and Con-e- 
maugh'j in the middle; Lack-aw-an'na, Timk-han'nock, 
Pine-creek^ and Sin-ne-ma-ho' ning in the north ; and She- 
nan' go^ Red-hank^ and Ma-ho'mng^ in the west. 

5. In addition to these, there are a great number of 
smaller streams or creeks, and large springs; Pennsylvania 
being a remarkably well watered state. 

6. The lakes are few and small. Con'ne-aut, in Craw- 
ford county, is the largest lake entirely embraced in the 
state. In the north-eastern corner of it there are numerous 
and beautiful small bodies of standing water called Ponds. 

7. Lake Erie, which forms a small portion of the north- 
west boundary of Pennsylvania, is 200 miles long, and 50 
broad. 

8. The regret is often heard, that the rivers of Pennsylvania are 
not permanently navigable. But, like all other complaints against 
the works of Providence, this objection, when candidly examined, 
is without foundation. For, let it be borne in mind, that though 
the gentle streams of New York or Ohio present a long course of 
navigable waters from their mouths to their sources, yet, that those 
sources are far below the rich mineral regions from which our 
mountain torrents leap ; and though difficult of ascent, that our 
streams have, by the hand of enterprise and industry, been converted 
into the easy means of transmitting down to the level plains of the 
sister states, the inexhaustible and indispensable riches found amidst 
their wild fountain heads. 

9. The widely distant points, also, at which the rivers of Penn- 
sylvania empty into the ocean, present another proof that she was 
designed to be the great mineral storehouse of this part of the 
continent. 

10. From one of her counties, (Potter,) waters flow into the Gulf 
of St. Law-rence, Ches-a-peake' bay, and the Gulf of Mexico; and 
from nearly all those that border on the great Al-le-ghen'y moun- 
tain, considerable streams fall into the two latter. 

11. When it is further remembered, that twice each year nearly 
Schuylkill, pronounced Skool'kill; Conewaga, Con-neh-icau'geh; Cone- 

cocheague, Coii'neh-co-jig' ; Mahanoy, Maw-haw-noy' . 



4. Oi {he third, 

5. Is Pennsylvania well watered ? 

6. What is said of the Lakes ? 

7. Of Lake Erie ? 

8. IVhat regret is heard ? Is it 
xvelJ founded ? 



9. Why may Peiuisylvania he 
called the mineral storehouse ? 

10. What is said of Potter and 
of the Alleghe7iy counties ? 



SOIL. 



15 



all our streams are" navigable for descendinfr craft, and that the few 
articles which are required to be taken up for the use of the moun- 
tain counties, are of light freight in comparison with those sent 
down, the objection that our streams are not permanently navigable, 
disappears before the numerous other advantages of our position. 

12. Most of the streams of Pennsylvania retain their original 
beautiful Indian names, and it is to be regretted that all do not. 
The Del'a-ware, which took its present name from Lord Delawar, 
a British nobleman, who was one of the early governors of Vir- 
ginia, was called Mac-ker-is-kif tan by the Indians. Man'a-yunk 
was the name by which they knew the Schuylkill. Its present 
name was given by the Hollanders, and is said to mean " the 
Hidden River," its mouth not being visible to persons ascending 
the Delaware. 



IV. SOIL. 

1. The soil of Pennsylvania varies with the rocks which 
compose its surface ; the greater portion of the substance 
of all soil being formed of pulverized rock. 

2. In the limestone valleys and alluvial flats, it is equal 
to any in point of fertility. These prevail in the south- 
east, among the mountains of the middle counties, and in 
the west. 

3. Where red-shale, slate, and some kinds of sandstone 
occur, the soil is only tolerably productive in its natural 
state, but is susceptible of great and permanent improve- 
ment by means of judicious farming. These form a large 
portion of the surface in every quarter of the state. 

4. The soil oi \he mountains themselves is of little value 
for agriculture, except as pasture ranges. For this pur- 
pose much of it will, no doubt, hereafter become useful 
and profitable. 

5. Some of the most valuable improvements in modern agricul- 
ture proceed from the discovery, that all plants do not exhaust from 
the soil, in which they grow, the same ingredients or component 
parts of it ; and that no two plants of a different kind abstract the 
same proportion of each ingredient. 



11. Wkat of the ascending and de- 
scending freight ? 

12. What of the names of the riversl 

1. Of what does the greater por- 
tion of soil consist ? 

2. Where do limestone and aUu- 
vial soil occur ? 



3. What is said of red-shale, slate, 
and sandstone ? 

4. What is said of the moun- 
tains ? 

5. What valuable discovery has 
been made i?i relation to soils ? 



16 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



6. Hence, beyond all question, it is established: 1st. That every 
kind of soil is, in its natural state, fitted for the production of some 
one or other of the thousand plants that cover the earth; and 
2d. That the addition to it, by human labour, of those ingredients 
or substances of which any soil is deficient, will fit it for the pro- 
duction of the plants that require those ing'redients. 

7. Careful examination has also shown that stlidous or flinty 
matter not only constitutes a large portion of all soils, but also the 
largest ingredient in the composition of oats, ivkeaf, Indian corn, 
rye and harky. It also demonstrates that certain other substances, 
of which LIME is always one, are contained in these and other 
plants, a very large portion of it entering into the composition of 
clover and corn. 

8. From these facts, it follows that the addition of lime to soils 
from which it is naturally absent, must confer upon them the power 
to produce those useful plants, especially corn and clover, so far as 
unproductiveness of them was caused by its absence. 

9. The same may be said of potash, soda, magnesia, and certain 
acids, all of which are ingredients in most of the useful plants. 

10. In this view of our soils, the presence of limestone in large 
quantities, in any county, is second in value to that of no other 
mineral ; not even excepting coal or iron. 

11. For, as the productions of the farmer are indispensable to per- 
sons in every business, and as the proper application of lime to the 
soils of Pennsylvania, which are destitute of it, will convert them 
into fruitful agricultural districts, the value of limestone must be 
beyond that of any other mineral we possess. 

12. Nor does this good effect alone follow the addition of lime, 
or any other single substance of which a soil happens to be deficient. 
The mixture of entire soils with each other often has the same result. 
For instance, the carting of a certain proportion of the surface of 
rich boggy or bottom land upon upland, or the reverse; the addition 
of pure sand to stiff clay fields ; or the application of any other soil 
to one of an entirely dissimilar character, has generally the same 
beneficial effect. 

13. In all these cases, the applied soil being dissimilar from that 
to which it is added, the chances are, even without the certainty of 
a scientific anal3'^sis, that productive substances have been obtained, 
and consequently that productiveness will be increased. 

14. In this way there is great truth in the remark, that in the 
hands of a judicious farmer, almost every farm contains within its 
limits the means of its own fertilization. 



6. What conclusions have followed 
from, it ? 

7. What is said of wheat, other 
grains, and clover ? 

8. What of lime ? 

9. What is said of potash, soda, 
magnesi-a, and acids ? 



10. What of the value of lime- 
stone ? 

11. Why? 

12. What is said of entire soils ? 

13. Why? 

14. What remark is thus proved 
true ? 



CLIMATE. 17 



V. CLIMATE. 



1. The climate of Pennsylvania, which means the state 
and influence of the weather during all the seasons of the 
year, is exceedingly variable. 

2. The year is usually divided m\.o four seasons : March, 
April, and May, are called Spring; June, July, and Au- 
gust, Summer ; September, October, and November, Jlu- 
tumn or Fall; and December, January, and February, 
Winter. 

3. in this state, the w^eather of each of the seasons in 
the same year is not only so very inconstant, but those of 
the different years vary so much from each other, that this 
distribution often seems unsuitable to our climate. 

4. Sometimes the storms of Winter begin with Novem- 
ber, or endure till March ; other years delightful Spring 
weather commences in February, and Autumn runs into 
December. 

5. The Summers^ however, more nearly resemble each 
other, though the weather of each is also variable. The 
larger number of days are hot and clear ; but violent thun- 
der gusts, heavy rains from the north- w^est and east, and 
warm showers from the south, are common. 

6. The Winters are very variable. Some years snow 
covers the ground for months at a time ; and during others, 
enough does not fall for sleighing. But severe and long- 
continued frosts are rarely w^anting. 

7. The prevailing Whids of summer are from the north- 
west and south-west, the former bringing clear, and the 
latter cloudy weather. South and south-east winds are 
generally accompanied by w^arm, and east and north-east 
winds by cold rain. 

8. North-west winds also prevail in winter, generally 
with clear cold weather. Northerly and easterly winds 
bring snow-storms, and those from the south mild rains. 



L What is climate? 

2. Name the seasons? 

3. Are they variable ? 

4. What is said of spring and 
autumn? 



5. What of summer ? 

6. Of winter? 

7. What are the prevailing winds 
of summer ? 

8. Of winter? 



18 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



9. During the spring and fall the winds are exceed- 
ingly variable, producing the same changes of weather as 
in summer and winter. 

10. In the northern and in the high mountain counties 
the climate is more severe, but also more regular than in 
the lower and southern parts of the state. 

11. Snow generally continues the greater part of the 
winter ; spring sets in nearly a month later, and winter as 
much earlier, than in the south ; and the nights are fre- 
quently cool in the midst of summer. 

12. In every part of the state the greatest heat^ being 
about 95 degrees by the thermometer, usually occurs in 
July, and the most intense cold^ which is about 20 de- 
grees helow zero, in January. 

13. The ordinary teinperature of summer is about 70 de- 
grees, and in winter about 30, above zero. During spring 
and fall it ranges between those two points. 

14. Though so fickle, and suddenly changing from such 
opposite extremes, the climate of Pennsylvania is remark- 
ably healthful ; the amount and kind of disease being simi- 
lar to those that are common to milder climates. 

15. The climate of Pennsylvania is much more severe than that 
of the countries of Europe, which lie on the same parallels of lati- 
tude. Neither Portu^l, Spain, Italy, nor Turkey, experience the 
same degree of cold in vrinter that vre do. Even Great Britain and 
Ireland, lying from 12 to 16 degrees further north, have a milder 
climate. 

'16. This is mainly caused by those countries being either wholly 
or nearly surrounded by the sea, which usually moderates the heats 
of summer, and the cold in winter. Whereas we are not only re- 
moved from the sea, but connected by land, or a chain of cold fresh- 
water lakes, with the frozen regions of the north. The prevailing 
northern winds in winter, sweeping from this chilly source, and 
passing over the intermediate snow-clad surface, reach us with a 
degree of severity unknown to similar latitudes in the Old World. 

17. These causes may account for the greater degree of cold, 
which we experience in winter, than our latitude demands. Our 
summer heats, however, are not beyond what a similar vicinity to 



9. Of spring and fall? 

10. What is remarked of the north- 
ern and mountain counties ? 

11. What of their spring and fall, 
and nights ? 

12. What is the greatest heat and 
cold in Pennsylvania? 



13. What is the ordinary tempera- 
ture ? 

14. Is our climate healthful ? 

15. What is said of our climate in 
comparison with other countries ? 

16. Why? 



CLIMATE. 



19 



the line usually produces. That the countries above named have 
cooler summers, is caused by the peculiarities, just noticed, in their 
position. 

18. Within the century and a half elapsed since its settlement, 
the climate of Pennsylvania has underorone a j^reat change. At the 
commencement of that period, and for many years after, the winters 
were long-er and more severe. Snow almost uniformly lay on the 
oTound durinsT the greater part of December, January, and February. 
Frosts occurred earlier in the fall and later in the spring. More 
niin seems to have fallen throughout the year, and the summer 
heats were more oppressive. 

19. The change is generally attributed to the clearing of the land, 
and the draining of its surface by cultivation. These causes have 
rendered the earth drier, and have, consequently, decreased the 
quantity of water, which, by evaporation, reaches the clouds; re- 
turning to chill the earth in the form of snow in winter, and to keep 
it almost constantly damp, in the shape of rain, in summer. 

20. This amelioration of climate, or rather decrease of moisture 
on the surface, will probably advance till the whole state is cleared 
and cultivated. Thus far it has had the beneficial effect of improv- 
ing the health of many places. Agues and other diseases produced 
by extreme heat, acting on damp and decaying vegetable matter, 
are now comparatively rare. 

21. But as few earthly blessings are without some alloy, this 
also has its inconvenience. Many springs and wells, that used to 
continue throughout the year, now become dry during the latter 
part of summer and fall ; their sources being deprived of a constant 
supply of water by the decrease of rain and snow. 

22. The most remarkable peculiarity of our climate is that suc- 
cession of mild, calm, hazy weather that commonly occurs after the 
first frosts in November, called " Indian summer." 

23. Some say it was so named by the first settlers, who believed 
that this smoky state of the air proceeded from the burning of the 
woods, leaves, and dry grass by the Indians in their autumnal fire 
hunts. 

24. Others suppose that the name originated from the fact, that 
the Indlam took advantage of this lingering remains of summer to 
strike their last blows on the white settlements, before the winter 
rendered it difficult for them to reach their victims. If this were 
its origin, then the season that is so delightful to us, must have 
been one of terror to our ancestors. 



17. IVhat is said of our summers ? 

18. W/iat change has tahen place ? 

19. JVhal are the causes ? 

20. Nrt/ne one of its good effects. 

21. Also, one of its incoiiveniences. 



22. What is rcmarhahle infalll 

23. What do some say was the ori- 
gin of the name ? 

24. Tl'liat do others say ? 



20 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 




Penn's Treaty with the Indians. 



VI. HISTORY. 



1. Before it was taken possession of by Europeans, 
the territory now called Pennsylvania was occupied by 
various tribes of Indians, of which the chief were the Del'- 
a-waresy Six Mations, and Sliaw-an-ees' . 

2. In 1643, the first colony of whites was established 
by the Swedes , under Governor John Printz. They set- 
tled along the western bank of the Delaware, principally, 
near the mouth of the Schuylkill. They were the first 
purchasers of the land from the Indians, and called it New 
Sweden. 

3. In 1655, the Dutch colony of New Netherlands (now- 
New York) subdued the Swedish colony, but permitted all 
the Swedish settlers to remain. 

4. In 1664, the English conquered the territory now 



1. Who occupied Pennsylvania 
before the Europeans? 

2. When and by whom was the 
first while colony estabhshed ? 



it? 



3, When did the Dutch conquer 



4. When did the English ? 



HISTORY. 21 



called Pennsylvania, with all the other Dutch possessions 
in North America. 

5. In 1681, King Charles the Second granted Pennsyl- 
vania to William Penn, and gave it the present name. 

6. In 1682, Penn regularly founded the province. 

7. In July, 1776, Pennsylvania became a free and inde- 
pendent state by the Declaration of Independence and the 
formation of a state constitution. At that time it contained 
about 300,000 inhabitants. 

8. .In 1790, the second State Constitution was adopted. 

9. In 1834, the Common School Law was passed. 

10. In 1838, the third and jyresent State Constitution 
was adopted. 

11. The DeHa-wares, so called by the whites from the river on 
whose banks they were first met, and where they chiefly resided, 
were the most numerous nation in the province. Tliey called them-^ 
selves Len'ni Len'a-pe, or the ori^i7ial people. They were also 
sometimes known by the name of Al-gon'quins. 

12. They wore divided into three chief tribes : The U-na'mis, or 
turtles, the Un-a-lacht'gos^ or turkeys, and the Mrm'scys., or wolves. 
The two first occupied the country south-east of the Kit-ta-tin'ny, 
and the last the region north of that mountain, on the upper waters 
of the Delaware and Sus-que-han'na. 

13. The various bands of Delawares received different names 
from the whites, according to their location, as the Sus-que-han'nas, 
the Con-es-to'gas, the Nesh-a-min'ies^ the Nan-ti-cokes\ ^'c. 

14. The Shaw-an-ees', a portion of a different nation, were settled 
near Wy-o'ming, and some of them on the Ohio, below Pittsburg-. 

15. The celebrated Five Nations seem originally to have owned 
north-western Pennsylvania. The On-un-da'gas, Ca-i/u-gas, On-ei'- 
das, Scn'e-cas, and Mo'hawks first composed this remarkable and 
powerful confederacy. To these were subsequently added the Tus- 
ca-ro'ras, after which they were called the 8ix Nations. 

IG. By the Delawares they were called Minii^'os and Maqnas, by 
the French Iroquois^ and by the English the Five or Six Nations. 

17. Their chief residence or council-house was at On-oTi-da'go, 
in New York, the greater part of which state belonged to them. 

Onondagos pronounced Ofi-on-daiv' gues ; Iroquois, E-ro-quaw' . 



5. When was it granted to Penn ? 

6. When founded ? 

7. When become independent ? 

8. What happened in 1790? 

9. In 1834 ? 

10. In 1838? 

11. Who were the Delawares ? 

12. How divided? 



13. How subdivided? 

14. Who were the Shawanees ? 

If). TF7to composed the Five Na- 
tions ? 

16. What were they called? 

17. Where was their chief rcsi- 
deuce ? 



22 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



18. Sometime previous to the landing of the Europeans, the Six 
Nations are said to have conquered the Delawares. It is at least 
certain, that they exercised authority over them, and that this 
subjection often rendered the dealings of the colonists with the 
Delawares complicated and difficult. 

19. In 1756, Tee-dy-us'cund, the noted Delaware chief, seems to 
have compelled the Six Nations to acknowledge the independence 
of his tribe ; but the claim of superiority was often afterwards 
revived. 

20. In 1638, the <S'wec?es purchased from the Indians the land from 
Cape Hen-lo'pen to the Falls at Trenton, along the western shore 
of the Delaware. 

21. In 1643, they commenced settling within the present bounds 
of Pennsylvania. Their Governor, John Printz, erected a fort, 
which he called New Gottemburg, and afterwards a church and a 
spacious house for himself, on Tin'i-cum island, in the Delaware, 
below the mouth of the Schuyl'kill. 

22. Until 1655, the Swedish settlements regularly increased. In 
that year they were taken by Peter Stuyvesani, Governor of the 
Dutch colony of New Netherlands, now New York. 

23. Nine years afterwards, or in 16G4, all the Dutch possessions 
in America, including those on the Delaware, were conquered by 
the English. 

24. Being thus possessed of the territory by conquest from those 
who had rightfully acquired the Indian title to at least a part of 
it, King Charles the Second, by charter, dated March 4, 1681, 
granted it to William Penn, a member of the Society of Friends, 
in discharge of certain large claims due by the crown to his father, 
Admiral Sir William Penn. 

25. On the 24th of October, 1682, William Penn arrived at his 
new province in the ship Welcume. He first landed at New Castle, 
in the present state of Delaware. At this time Delaware also be- 
longed to Penn, by grant from the Duke of York, the king's bro- 
ther, but did not long continue connected with Pennsylvania. 

26. The same year he laid out Phil-a-del'phi-a, on land purchased 
from three Swedish settlers; divided the province into the three 
counties of Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks ; and convened the 
first legislature, which met on the 4th of December, at the town of 
Chester, and completed their session in three days. 

27. Early in 1683, Penn entered into treaties with the Indians 



18. What is said of them with re- 
gard to the Delawares ? 

19. What hapiyened m 1756 1 

20. When did the Swedes pur- 
chase ? 

21. W^hen and where did they 
settle ? 

22. When and by whom were they 
co?tquered ? 



23. When and by whom were the 
Dutch conquered ? 

24. When and to whoin did King 
Charles grant it ? 

25. When did Penn first arrive? 
2(j. When iverc Phitadeljihia and 

the three counties laid out ? 

27. What did Penn do in 1683, 
and v)hat was his conduct to the In- 
dians ? 



HISTORY. 



23 



for the purchase of large tracts of land west and north of Philadel- 
phia, it heino- his honest rule to acquire the Indian title, as well as 
that of the Encrlish king. 

i28. In 1684, Penn sailed for England. 

29. In 1G91, a dispute arose between the provinces of Pennsyl- 
vania and Delaware, which resulted in the formation of separate 
letrislatures, and the final separation of the provinces. 

^0. In 1699, Penn refurncd to the province with his family, and 
found it much increased in population, prosperity, and wealth. 

.31. In 1701, a new chartei'^ or frame of government, more fully 
adapted -to the wants of the people, was adopted, and Penn finally 
returned to England. 

32. In 1718, he died at Bushcomb, in Buckinghamshire, aged 
74 years. His last daj^s were embittered by persecution and pecu- 
niary distresses at home, and dissensions in his colonies. 

33. On his death, Pennsylvania became the property of his sons, 
John, Thomas, and Richard, by whom, or their deputies, it was 
governed till the Revokjtion. 

34. In 1723, Benjamin Franklin, then in his seventeenth year, 
arrived in Philadelphia from Boston, and soon acquired an influence, 
which he exercised to the benefit of the province and his own honour 
during a long life. 

35. The same year the first paper money was issued in the 
province. 

36. In 1732, Thomas Penn, and in 1734, John Penn arrived in 
the province, where Thomas remained till 1741. 

37. In 1739, on the breaking out of a war with Spain, the Assem- 
bly refused supplies for the defence of the province, on the ground 
of religious scruples. This was the beginning of a long contro- 
versy between the legislature and the governors. 

38. In 1744, the war between England and France put an end to 
the peace that had previously existed without any intermption be- 
tween the colonists and Indians. Before that melancholy era, the 
prudent councils of the Friends had completely saved the province 
from those Indian ravages that afterwards devastated the frontiere. 

39. In 1754, by the treaty of Albany, the Six Nations conveyed 
to the province a large tract of land, lying beyond the Susquehanna 



28. When did he return to Eng- 
land ? 

21). When did the dispute com- 
mence between Pen7isylvania and 
Delaware ? 

:30. When did Penn return ? 

'il. IVlien was a new charter 
granted ? 

32. W/ien and where did he diel 

33. Wliose property did Penrisyl- 
vania. tlien become ? 

34. When did Franklin arrived 



I 35. When was the first paper mo- 
ney issued ? 

36. When did Thomas and John 
Penn arrive ? 

37. When atid why did the Assem- 
bly first refuse supplies ? 

38. When and how was the long 
peace between the colonists and In- 
dians broken ? 

39. When was the treaty of Alba- 
ny, what was done by it, a?id what 
ivas the consequence ? 



24 



STATE- BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



river and Kit-ta-tin'ny mountain, and south-west of the mouth of 
Penn's creek. Being without the consent of the Dehiwares and 
Shaw-an-ees', who occupied the territory, those tribes became justly 
incensed, and joined the French. 

40. In 1755, General Braddock, while marching, in a manner op- 
posed to the advice of Colonel Washington, with a large force 
against Fort Du Quesne, (now Pittsburg,) was attacked by the 
Indians and French, and defeated with great slaughter. He him- 
self was mortally wounded, and died shortly after, during the 
retreat. 

41. In 1758, General Forbes led a strong force from Carlisle 
against Fort Du Quesne, which he found abandoned. The French 
never afterwards regained any footing in the province. 

42. In 1763, the Indian war, called Po;)-//-ac'5 vjar, raged. Forts 
Pres'qu'ile', Ve-nan'go, and Le Bceuf were taken, and Forts Pitt, 
Lig-o-ni'er, and Bedford, were attacked on the same day, by strata- 
gem. The exposed settlers suffered many hardships. 

43. The same year the Manor Indians were killed at Lancaster 
jail by the Paxton boys. 

44. In 1767, the southern line of the state was finally run and 
settled by Mason and Dixon. 

45. In 1768, all the remaining lands in the province, except those 
beyond the Al-le-ghen'y river, were purchased from the Indians at 
Fort Stanwix, now Rome, in Oneida county. New York. 

46. In 1769, the civil war between the Connecticut settlers and 
the Pennsylvania claimants began in Wy-o'ming. 

47. In 1769, the right of taxing the colonies, without their own 
consent, some years before asserted by the British Parliament, was 
boldly denied by the colonial Assembly, who took strong ground 
against that odious doctrine. 

48. In 1774, Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, took posses- 
sion of Fart Pitt as being within the limits of his province; but his 
garrison was soon expelled. 

49. On the 18th of June, 1774, a meeting of 8000 persons took 
place in Philadelphia, and recommended a Continental Congress 

Du Quesne pronounced Z^oo-Aam' ; Presque-ile', Pres-JceeV ; Le BcEuf, 
Le Beff; Ligonier, Lig-o-neer' . 



40. What happened to Braddock ? 

41. What did Forbes do, and 
Vihen ? 

42. When did Pontiac^s war hap- 
pen, and what took place 1 

43. When, where, and by whom 
were the Manor hidians killed ? 

44. What is Mason and Dixoii's 
line, and when run ? 

45. When wds the first treaty of 
Fort Stanwix held, and what was 
done ? 



46. When and where did the Con- 
necticut claim create a civil war ? 

47. When was the right of taxing 
the colonies without their own consent 
first distinctly denied by the Assem- 
bly ^ 

48. When and why did Lord Pun- 
more take Fort Pitt ? 

49. What large meeting was held 
in Philadelphia, iohe?i was it, and 
what did it recommend ? 



4-.<''tl 



4^^ 



HISTORY. 



25 



for the vindication of the rig-hts of the colonies, and the relief of 
Boston. 

50. On the 15th of July, 1774, deputies from all the counties met 
at Philadelphia, and passed strong resolutions in iavour of the rights 
of the colonies, and the holding of a General Colonial Congress. 
Accordingly the Assembly appointed seven delegates to the 
Congress. 

51. In September, 1774, the first Congress met at Carpenter^ 
Hall in Philadelphia. 

52. On. the 15tli of July, 177G, independence having been declared, 
a state convention, in Philadelphia, met and framed a Constitution 
for Pennsylvania as a F'rek and Sovereign State. At that time 
the population was about 300,000. 

53. In 1777, after the battle of Brandywine, Congress adjourned 
to Lancaster, and thence to York ; and Philadelphia fell into the 
hands of the British, who retained it till June, 1778. In the last 
named year Congress returned to Philadelphia, where it remained 
till 1800, when it removed to Washington. 

54. In 1778, the Tories and Indians destroyed the Wyoming 
settlements. 

55. In 1779, Sulliva7i's expedition against the northern Indians 
occurred. 

56. In 1780, slavery was abolished in Pennsylvania. 

67. In 1781, by the advice of Robert Morris, Congress incorpo- 
rated the Bank of North America, which was the first bank in the 
Union. 

58. In 1782, the controversy with Connecticut about the Luzerne 
lands was decided in favour of Pennsylvania, by Commissioners 
of Congress at Trenton, after full argument and investigation. 

59. In 1784, all the remaining lands owned by the Indians in the 
state, were purchased from the Six Nations by treaty at Fort 
Stanwix. 

60. In 1789, Earmark's expedition against the western Indians 
took place. 

61. In 1790, the ^i-.cond State Constitution was adopted, and Tho- 
mas Miffiin elected first Governor under it. 



50. When did the first deputies 
meet, and wliat did they recommend ? 

51. Wiien and where did the first 
Congnss assemble ? 

52. When was the first State con- 
stitution-framed ? 

53. W^lien did the Battle of Bran- 
dywine take place, and what was its 
effect on Congress and fhiladelphia ? 

54. When, and by whom was Wy- 
oming destroyed t 

55. When did Sullivan^ s expedi- 
tion take place ? 



56. When was slavery abolished f 

57. When was the first bank esta- 
blished, and which was il ? 

58. When and how was the Con- 
necticut controversy settled ? 

59. What took place at the second 
treaty of Fort Stanwix, and when ? 

60. ^Vlien did Harmar^s expedi- 
tion take place ? 

61. When was the second State 
Constitution adopted, and who was 

first Governor under it 1 



26 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



62. In 1791, General St. Clair, most of whose troops were from 
Pennsylvania, was defeated. 

63. In 1792, Pennsylvania purchased the Erie triangle of land 
from the United States government. 

64. Between 1792 and 1795, Wayne'^s operations against the 
western Indians put an end to their ravages. 

65. In 1794, the Turnpike from Philadelphia to Lancaster was 
completed, at a cost of $465,000, being the first in the Union. 

66. In 1799, Thomas McKean succeeded Governor Mifflin. 

67. In 1800, Lancaster became the seat of state government, and 
that of the Union was removed from Philadelphia to Washington, 
D. C. 

68. In 1808, Simon Snyder succeeded Governor McKean. 

69. In 1812, the seat of government was transferred to Harrishurg. 

70. About 1815, the great era of turnpike improxement, to which 
Pennsylvania owes so much, was at its height. 

71. In 1817, William Findlay succeeded Simon Snyder as Go- 
vernor. 

72. In 1820, Joseph Hiester succeeded Governor Findlay. 

73. In 1823, /. A. Shulze was elected Governor after Joseph 
Hiester. 

74. In 1825, the great system of state improvement by canal and 
railroad was commenced. 

75. In 1829, George ^o^ succeeded Governor Shulze. 

76. In 1834, theirs/ Common School Law was passed. 

77. In 1835, Joseph Ritner succeeded George Wolf as Governor. 

78. In 1836, ihe present Common School Law was passed. 

79. In 1838, the existing State Constitution was adopted, putting 
an end to the life tenure of office, and taking nearly all the appoint- 
ments from the Governor. 



62. When did St. Clair's defeat 
happen ? 

63. When was the Erie triangle 
purchased ? 

64. When did Wayne's western 
campaians occur ? 

65. When was the Lancaster turn- 
pike completed, and at what cost ? 

66. Who succeeded Governor Mif- 
flin, and when elected ? 

67. When did T^ancaster hecome 
the seat of state government, and 
what happened to Philadelphia the 
same year ? 

68. Who succeeded Gov. McKean, 
and when ? 

69. When did Harrishurg hecome 
the seat of government ? 

70. What was the dale of the turn- 
fihe era ? 



71 . Who succeeded Governor Sny- 
der, and when ? 

72. Who succeeded Governor Find- 
lay, and when ? 

73. Who succeeded Governor Hies- 
ter, and whin ? 

74. When was the internal im- 
provement system commenced ? 

75. Who succeeded Gov. Shulze, 
and v!hen 1 

76. When was the first Common 
School Law passed ? 

77. Who succeeded Governor Wolf, 
and when ? 

78. When was the present Common 
School Law passed ? 

79. When was the present State 
Constitution adopted, and what 
changes did it effect ? 



POPULATION. 



27 



80. In 1838, D. R. Porter was elected Governor after Joseph 
Ritner. 

81. In 1844, F. R. Skunk succeeded Governor Porter. 

82. In 1845, the great Fire at Pittsburg occurred. 



The local history of the different parts of the state will be 
found under the respective counties. 



VII. POPULATION. 

1. By the census of 1840, the population of Pennsyl- 
vania was 1,724,033. At the end of the year 1845 it was 
probably not less than 2,000,000, being about 42 to each 
square mile, or 1 to every 15 acres in the whole state. 

2. Though the state was first regularly colonized by 
Englishmev, principally of the society of Friends^ yet 
there were previously some Swedish and Dutch settlers. 
Large numbers of English^ Irish, German, and Welsh, 
with some from France, Holland, and Scotland, have since 
been added. Several counties have also almost exclusively 
been settled by JYew-Englanders. 

S. In the older counties, the emigrants of each nation 
generally formed separate settlements by themselves. 
Hence, to this day, different languages continue to be 
spoken at different places. The English, however, is the 
prevailing tongue, though German is commonly used in 
many counties. In two or three the Welsh language is 
heard to a considerable extent, and in some few settle- 
ments French is spoken. 

4. In most of the Western counties the population is 
of a mixed description, they having been chiefly peopled 
from the older parts of the state. 

5. The new counties along the Northern line are less 
mixed than any, their inhabitants being nearly all of New 
England oriojin. 

CD D 



80. Who succeeded Governor Rit- 
ner, and when ? 

81. Who succeeded Governor Por- 
ter, and. when ? 

82. When did the Pittsburg fire 
happen ? 

]. What was the population of 
Pennsylvania in 1840? in 1845? the 



number to each square mile ? and 
the number of acres to each person ? 

2. From what nations were the 
people originally derived ? 

3. What is said about language? 

4. What is said of the western 
counties ? 

5. What of the nori hern ? 



28 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



6. Not less than one-half of the people of the state are 
actually engaged in agriculture. The rest are divided 
among the various pursuits connected with commerce, 
manufactures, mining, and lumbering. 

7. The process by which the various sections of Pennsylvania 
first became settled, presents some interesting circumstances. In 
tracing- it we not only perceive the severities practised by the 
various governments of the Old World materially hastening the 
population of the New, but the distinct national characters of the 
emigrants from each land thus brought into contact, singularly de- 
veloping themselves. 

8. Though the Svjedes and the Butch, or Hollanders, were un- 
doubtedly the first white settlers in Pennsylvania, yet the former 
never extended themselves far inland from the Delaware, and the 
latter can scarcely be said to have made a permanent lodgment at 
all. They merely held possession, for a few years, as conquerors 
of the Swedes, without adding many settlers of their own nation. 
Some Swedish and a very few Dutch names of families and places 
along the River Delaware, are all the remains that are now dis- 
coverable of either. 

9. The next influx was that of the English Friends. They were 
for some years the most numerous ; but, as they offered religious 
toleration to all who desired a refuge in Pennsylvania from the 
same oppression that had exiled themselves, and as their number 
in ihe Old World was srnall in comparison with that of others also 
seeking freedom of conscience, they were soon outnumbered, and 
their policy on other points overruled in their own colony. 

10. The chief immigration of the Friends occurred between 1680 
and 1700, but their peaceful policy governed the province till about 
1740, a period of sixty years. 

11. The next considerable national class of emigrants were the 
Presbyterians, from the north of Ireland. These are generally 
termed the Scotch-Irish, from a similarity of religion and dialect 
that exists between the people of the north of Ireland and the oppo- 
site part of Scotland. They arrived here in the greatest numbers 
within the first forty years of the last century, but especially about 
the year 1720. 

12. From 1710 till 1750, but most largely about 1740, German 
settlers, now commonly but inaccurately called Dutch, came from 
various parts of Germany, many being from the Palatinate. They 
were nearly all of the different reformed sects. 

13. Botli before and after the last-named period, arrivals also 



6. How are the people employed ? 

7. What is said of the process by 
which Pennsylvania has been peo- 
pled ? 

8. What of the Swedish and Dutch 
settlers ? 

9. What of the Friends 1 



10. Whe7i did, they chiefly arrive, 
and how long rule 1 

11. Who were the Scotch-Irish, 
and when did they mostly arrive ? 

12. When did the Germans come i 

13. What is said of other emi- 
grants 1 



POPULATION. 29 

occurred from most of the other civilized countries of the Old World ; 
but they cither took place in small numbers, or did not form dis- 
tinct settlements. Their effect, therefore, is not very perceptible at 
this late day. 

14. The Roman Catholics of Ireland do not seem to have settled 
in this state in very considerable numbers till towards the close 
of the last century; though since that period they have become 
quite numerous in every part of the state. 

15. Between 1750 and 1770, south-western Pennsylvania, then 
claimed by Virginia^ was entered by a number of settlers from that 
colony and from Maryland^ and considerable improvements were 
cllected by them. 

16. From 1762 to 1770, numerous adventurers from Connecticut 
seated themselves in the north-eastern part of the province, mostly 
in Luzerne county. This was under a claim that the whole north- 
ern part of Pennsylvania, from its eastern to its western limit, and 
as far south nearly as the 41st degree of latitude, formed part of 
Connecticut, under the grant from King Charles the Second. 

17. Among all these various sources of population, the most in- 
fluential upon the destinies of the state, have been the Friends^ the 
Scotch-Irish^ the Germans, and the JVew Englanders. 

18. The Friends, though not now comparatively numerous, have 
impressed upon our statute-books, and our habits as a people, that 
degree of mildness and of plainness for which Pennsylvania has 
heretofore been noted. 

19. The Scotch-Irish, with the daring energy of their nation, at 
once occupied the extreme out-posts on the Indian frontier. They 
were almost uniformly seen in advance of all others, raising their 
rude dwellings, establishing their churches, and forcing back their 
savage neighbour. As soon as they became sufficiently numerous 
and influential in the province, the peaceful policy of the Friends 
was abandoned, and the government made to take an open part in 
the hostilities against the Indians and their wily French ally. 

20. As if intended to act as the pioneers of civilization, they do 
not seem to have had the power of remaining long stationary. 
About the year 1730, they crossed the south mountain, and entered 
the Cumberland Valley throughout its whole length. But even 
the Kittatinny did not long restrain them. Between 1745 and 1750, 
they passed its various gaps west of the Susquehanna, and occupied 
the narrow belt of limestone lands that skirts most of that portion of 
its northern base. Thence they rapidly follow^ed the main streams 
towards the north and west, establishing themselves in the pleasant 



14. What of the Roman Catholic 
Irish ? 

15. Who first settled south-western 
Pennsylvania ? 

16. When, where, and why did the 
Connecticut men settle ? 

17. Which classes of settlers ex- 
erted the e neatest infiuencel 

3* 



18. What infiiencehave the Friends 
hadl 

19. Where did the Scotcfi- Irish 
first settle, and what change did they 
effect in the policy of the province ? 

20. When did they enter the Cum- 
berland Valley, and when cross the 
Kittatinny ? 



30 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



valleys and flats on their banks, till they arrived at and finally 
crossed the main Allegheny mountain. 

21. The progress of their successors, the Germans, is no less 
remarkable or regular. Still following, they have almost as uni- 
formly displaced the Scotch-Irish. This singular change has taken 
place in Adams, part of York, a large portion of Lancaster, and in 
parts of several of the other south-eastern counties. But it is most 
striking in Cumberland Valley. Every county in that pleasant 
region, with the single exception perhaps of Berks, was first en- 
tered by the Scotch-Irish. But their restlessness and enterprise 
soon bore them onward, leaving the steadfastness of the German to 
occupy the soil. This it has so completely effected, that in most 
parts of the valley scarcely any memento remains of the first settlers, 
except the names on a few old grave-stones. 

22. While this double wave of population was sweeping on from 
the south-east, the early settlements effected from Virginia and 
Maryland, in the south-west, were increased by numbers from the 
older parts of Pennsylvania. At the same time, the New England- 
ers in the north-east had continued to advance till they reached the 
extreme north-western limit of the state. 

23. Thus the tide of civilization, flowing on simultaneously from 
the east, the south, and the north, united finally at a point in the 
middle west, where accordingly we find our latest and our most 
mixed settlements. 

24. Though thereyetexistsgreatdiversity of habit, feeling, and lan- 
guage, between the various portions of a population thus constituted, 
yet the whole, when a few more generations shall have blended them 
together, will probably form a community inferior to none. When 
the staid ness of the Friend shall have moderated the ardour of the 
Irishman ,• the steadfast industry of the German be mingled with 
the enterprise of the New-Englander ; and the versatility of the 
Frenchman, the sagacity of the Scot, and the fire of the ancient 
Briton be thrown into the mass, it is not easy to perceive what 
element of a superior national character will be absent. 

25. The result of each portion acting separately has heretofore 
been propitious. It is probable that the combined efl'ect of all, act- 
ing in harmony, will be even more so. 

26. The great variety of occupation, furnished by the diversified 
interests and resources of the state, will also exercise an important 
influence in the formation of the character of her people. They 
can never be either a wholly agricultural, commercial, or manufac- 
turing community ; but will have their intellects sharpened, their 
ideas enlarged, and their habits diversified by all these means. 



21. Who succeeded them, where, 
and to what extent ? 

22. What took place in the mean 
time in the north and south-west ? 

23. Which are the latest and most 
mixed settlements ? 



24. TVhat is said of the elements/or 
the formation of a national character ? 

25. What is expected to be the 
result ? 

26. What is the effect of variety 
of employment ? 



GOVERNMENT. 



31 



27. As aorriciiltiire must ever be their main pursuit, the proba- 
bility is, that the sterlincr virtues which seem invariably to accom- 
pany that useful and noble calling-, will still predominate among 
the qualities which shall ultimately constitute the state character. 

28. It is not, therefore, too much to expect that when the Virtue 
of an agricultural people, the Liberty of free republicans, and the 
Independence of a community in possession of all the necessaries 
t)f life, shall be fully enlightened by that Intelligence which is the 
gift of sound mental and moral culture, then indeed the state motto 
will become a state character which all her sons may be proud of. 

29. The accomplishment of this glorious object depends on the 
youth who attend the schools of the state. 



VIII. GOVERNMENT. 

1. The government of Pennsylvania is a representative 
republic ; that is, the power of making and executing the 
laws is exercised by the representatives of the people, 
elected or appointed for a limited time, and not in any 
case for life. 

2. These Powers are divided into legislative^ executive^ 
^nd judicial, each of which is kept separate from the other. 

3. The Legislature, composed of a Senate of 33 mem- 
bers, and a House of Representatives of 100, meets on 
the first Tuesday in January annually, at the seat of 
government. By the Legislature the laws of the state are 
made and altered when necessary. 

4. The chief Executive authority is intrusted to the 
governor of the Commonwealth. He is elected for three 
years, and it is his duty to see that the laws are faithfully 
executed. 

5. The Judicial power, or the power to apply the laws 
to particular cases, is exercised by the courts ; which are 
either courts of original jurisdiction, in which suits are 
brought in the first instance, or courts of appeal, in which 
the decisions of the courts of original jurisdiction are 
reviewed, to keep them all in accordance with the uniform 
rules of law. They are also divided into civil and crimi- 



27. Whai is expected from the pre- 
valence of agriculture ? 

28. Of education ? 

29. On whom does this depend ? 

1. What is our form of govern- 
ment ? 



2. How are its powers divided ? 

3. How is the legislature com- 
posed ? what does it make ? 

4. Who is the chief executive ? 

5. What is the judicial power? 
how exercised ? how many kinds ? 



32 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



nal courts. By the former, civil rights are determined-, 
and by the latter crimes are detected and punished. 

6. That portion of legislative, executive, and judicial 
power which Pennsylvania has delegated to the United 
States govermnent^ is exercised by the national legislature, 
called Congress^ the national executive or President^ and 
the United States courts of different grades. In the elec- 
tion or appointment of all these officers she participates in 
common with the sister states. 

7. The Expenses of government, which mean the cost 
of all the acts performed by officers of state for the public 
or common good, are chiedy defrayed by tax. 

8. Tax is that portion of his property which each person 
contributes yearly to support the government that protects 
and aids him in the enjoyment of the remainder, and of 
his rights generally. 

9. The whole amount of the revenue or income of Penn- 
sylvania, from tax and all other sources, is annually about 
$3,500,000 ; and the expenses of the state government of 
all kinds, including interest on debt, are about the same. 

10. The right of voting for public officers belongs to every white 
male citizen of the state, of the age of 21, Avho has resided in the 
state one year, and in the district in which he offers to vote ten 
days next preceding the election, and paid a state or county tax 
within two years, assessed at least ten days before the election ; but 
citizens between the ages of 21 and 22 are not required to pay tax 
to enable them to vote; and citizens previously qualified, having 
removed from the state and returned, are only required to reside six 
months previous to voting. 

11. In addition to the distribution of \he. powers of government, 
into legislative, executive, and judicial, the officers of government 
are divided into Slate^ County^ and Township officers : the constable 
being as much an officer of the law and of the government as the 
governor, and equally entitled to respect and obedience, in his proper 
sphere. 

12. The election of state and county officers takes place on the 
second Tuesday in October annually ; and of township officers on 
the third Friday in March in most of the counties. 



6. How are those powers of go- 
vernment delegated to the United 
States exercised ? 

7. How are the expenses of go- 
vernment paid ? 

8. What is tax ? 

9. What is the amount of the re- 



venue and expenses of government 
in Pennsylvania ? 

10. Describe the right of voting ? 

11. How are the officers of govern- 
ment divided ? 

12. When are state, county, and 
township officers elected ? 



GOVERNMENT. 



33 



13. State Senafors hold their office three years, and receive $3 a 
day while in session ; representatives are elected annually, and also 
receive f*3 a day. 

14. For the election of senators the state is divided into 28 dis- 
tricts, and for representatives into 47. 

15. A senator must be 25 years of ag-e, and have been a citizen 
of the state four years, and of the district one year before his 
election. 

16. A Representative or Assembly-man must be 21 years of age, 
and a citizen of the state three years, and of the district one year 
before his election. 

17. Four months is the usual duration of a session of the legis- 
lature. 

18. No person can be Governor unless he is 30 years of ag-e, and 
has been a citizen of the state seven years next before his election. 

19. The g-overnor receives a salary of $3000 a year, and cannot 
hold the office longer than six years in succession. 

The other chief executive state officers are : 

20. The Secretary of the Commonwealth, who keeps a record of 
all the official acts of the governor, issues commissions to all persons 
appointed by him, and to most of those elected by the people, 
attends to the official correspondence of the state, &c. He is also 
Superintendent of Common Schook, and as such has charge of the 
common school system. He receives $1700 a year. 

21. The Auditor General, who settles all the accounts of the 
state. He receives $1400 a year. 

22. The Surveyor-General, who has care of the public lands of 
the state. He receives $1200 a year. 

23. The State Treasurer, who has charge of all the money 
belonging to the state. He receives $1400 a year. 

24. Three Canal Commissioners, who have charge of the public 
works of the state. They each receive $3 a day for their services. 

25. The Adjutant General, who has the charge of the militia esta- 
blishment of the state in time of peace, and in time of war is one of 
the chief militia officers. He receives $300 a year in time of peace. 

26. The Attorney-General, who is the legal adviser of the 
governor and of the other chief executive officers ; and by himself 



13. State the term of office and pay 
of senators and representatives. 

14. How many senatorial and rep- 
resentative districts ? 

15. What are the qualifications of 
senators ? 

16. Of representatives or assem- 
blymen ? 

17. The dxiration of a session ? 

18. State the qualifications for go- 
vernor. 

1 9. His salary and tenure of office. 

20. TF/(o is i/te secretary of the 



Commonwealth ? what are his duties 
and salary ? 

21. Who is the auditor- general, 
and what is his salary ? 

22. T/ie secretary of the land office, 
his salary ? 

23. The state treasurer, and salary ? 

24. The canal commissioners, and 
their ptiy ? 

25. The adjutant- general, and sa- 
lary 1 

20. The attorney -general, and sa- 
lary 1 



34 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



or his deputies prosecutes all criminal offenders in every part of the 
Commonwealth. He receives $300 a year, and fees. 

27. All these executive officers are appointed by the governor for 
three years, except the state treasurer who is elected annually by 
the legislature, and the canal commissioners who are elected by 
the people, each for three years, one being chosen every year. 

28. The chief tribunals of original jurisdiction are those of Jus- 
tices of the Peace in the townships, and Aldermen in the cities ; and 
Courts of Common Pleas in each county. The latter are so called 
when they exercise civil jurisdiction, but are termed courts of 
Quarter Session when they sit as criminal tribunals. They are 
composed of a President Judge, who is a lawyer, and frequently 
holds court in more counties than one, and of two associates in 
each county, who are not lawyers. They try all causes with the 
aid of a jury of twelve men. Most civil causes involving any sum 
less than $100, are in the first instance determined by justices of 
the peace or aldermen, with the right of appeal to the Court of 
(yommon Pleas in most causes. Causes over $100 are tried by the 
Court of Common Pleas. 

29. Justices of the Peace and Aldermen have no power in criminal 
cases, except to send the accused party to prison to await his trial, 
or to receive bail that he will appear at court and be tried. 

30. Some counties have an additional court, called a District Court, 
which is altogether of civil jurisdiction. 

31. Cities have a Mayor^s Court, which is a criminal tribunal. 

32. There are 21 Common Pleas Judicial Districts in the state. 

33. Some Presidents of the Court of Common Pleas receive 
$2000, and others $1600 a year, and hold their offices for ten years. 
Associates receive $120 a year for five years. 

34. The Supreme Court, the highest state court of appeal, is com- 
posed of a Chief Justice and four Associates, who are all lawyers. 
They review all causes that are brought before them from every 
part of the state, without the aid of a jury. For that purpose they 
meet annually at Philadelphia, Harrishurg, Sunbury, and Pittsburg. 

35. The judges of the Supreme Court hold their offices for fifteen 
years. The Chief Justice receives $2666 Q)Q, and the Associates 
from $1600 to $2400 each, annually. In addition to this, they all 
receive from $3 to $4 a day each while holding court. 

36. All the Judges in the state are appointed by the Governor, 
with the consent of the Senate. 



27. How are the state executive 
officers elected or appointed, and for 
wfiat terms ? 

28. State the chief courts of origi- 
7ial jurisdiction, and their powers. 

29. Wliat powers have jicstices of 
ilie peace in criminal cases ? 

30. iVhat is a state district court ? 

31. Mayor^s court ? 

32. Hov} many judicial districts ? 



33. What is the term of office and 
salary of President and Associate 
judges ? 

34. What is the Supreme Court ? 
liow many judges ? wliere do t/tey 
meet ? 

35. Wfiat is their term of office and 
payl 

36. How are all the judges ap. 
pointed ? 



GOVERNMENT. 



35 



37. Justices of the Peace and Aldermen are elected by the people, 
and hold their offices five years. They are paid for their services 
by fees in each case. 

38. If either party to any civil suit desire, he may have it tried 
in the first instance by Arhitratars, chosen by the parties to the suit. 
They determine the case without the aid of judge or jury; but after 
arbitration, if either party is dissatisfied with the awards he may 
appeal the case to court. 

39. The Sheriff is the chief executive oflUcer of each county. He 
executes the process, sentences, and judgments of the courts, and is 
the general guardian of the public peace. 

40. The Coroner inquires into the cause of death of all persons 
found dead by unknown meaiis, and performs the duties of Sheriff 
when that officer dies, or is incapacitated from acting. 

41. The Prothonotary is the clerk who keeps the records of the 
civil courts of the county. 

42. The Clerk of the Sessions keeps the records of the criminal 
courts. 

43. The Register has charge of all wills, and of all proceedings 
necessary in the settlement of the property of men after their death. 

44. The Recorder keeps a record or copy of all deeds and con- 
veyances relative to lands in the county, so that if the originals be 
lost, the copies in his office may remain ; and also, that every per- 
son, by examining his records, may know the condition of the land 
titles. 

45. The Clerk of the Orphans' Court is the clerk of that branch 
of the business of the Court of Common Pleas which relates to the 
care of orphans and their property, the appointment and control of 
guardians, &c. 

4(5. Three County Commissioners manage the property and money 
matters of each county. By the County Treasurer the money of 
each county is received, taken care of, and paid out. 

47. Three County Auditors examine and settle once a year the 
accounts of the Commissioners and Treasurer. 

48. All county officers are elected by the citizens for three years, 
and are not paid a fixed salary, but receive fees from the persons 
who transact business with them, except the Commissioners and 
Auditors, who receive daily pay, and the Treasurer who receives a 
per centage out of the money that passes through his hands.f 

49. In each township two Justices of the Peace are elected for 
five years. 



37. Hou) are justices of the peace 
and aldermen chosen, for what term, 
what is their pay ? 

38. What is arbitration ? 

39. Who is the sheriff 'i 

40. Coroner ? 

41. Frotlionolaryl 

42. Clerk of the Sessions ? 

43. Eegisterl 



44. Eecorder ? 

45. Clerk of the Ori)hans' Court ? 

46. County commissioners ? 

47. County auditors ? 

48. How are all county officers 
chosen ? for what term ? and what is 
their compensation ? 

49. Hoiv many justices of the peace 
are elected in each township ? 



36 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



50. One Constable is also elected, who is the chief police officer 
of the township, in which he has powers somewhat similar to those 
of the sheriff in the county. 

51. Each township also elects two Supervisors to keep the roads 
in repair ; two Overseers to provide for the poor when there is no 
poor-house in the county ; six Directors to establish and manage the 
common schools ; an Assessor and Collector of county and state tax ; 
a township Clerk ,- a Treasurer; three Auditors to settle the township 
accounts ; and two Inspectors, axid one Judge of the General Election. 

52. All these officers are elected for one year, except School 
Directors and Auditors, who are elected for three years. 

53. In cities, a Mayor, or chief city magistrate, is elected for one 
year; Aldermen for five years; Select Councilmen for three, and 
Common Councilmen and City Constables for one year. 

54. In boroughs, a chief Burgess, town Councilmen, and borough 
Constable are elected for one year. 

The chief Taxes collected in this state are : 

55. The Road Tax, by which the roads and bridges of each 
township are made and repaired. 

56. The School Tax, by which the common or free schools are 
mainly supported. 

57. The County Tax, by which the cost of the county affairs is 
defrayed, such as the expenses of courts, jails, poor-houses, hospi- 
tals, the erection of public buildings, large bridges, &c. 

58. City and Borough Taxes in towns of those classes to sup- 
port their local government. 

59. The State Tax, by which, since the large increase of the 
state debt, caused by the construction of the public works, the inte- 
rest of the debt is chiefly paid. 

60. In addition to the State Tax, the other incomes of the state are 
derived from the tolls of the public works ; store and tavern licenses ; 
sale of the state lands ; auction duties ; taxes on bank dividends, 
corporation stocks, collateral 'inheritances, writs, &c. 

61. The chief expenditures of the state government are the annual 
expenses of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments, 
penitentiaries, militia, pensions, common schools, and interest of 
the state debt. 

?t . 

50. Who is the constable ? 

51. Who are the other township 
officers ? 

52. What is the term, of office of 
township officers ? 

53. What are the city officers, and 
their term 1 

54. Borough officers, and their 
terml 



55. What is the road tax ? 

56. School tax ? 

57. County tax ? 

58. City and borough tax ? 

59. State tax 'i 

60. What are the other incomes of 
the state derived from ? 

6 1 . Wliat are the chief expenses of 
the state government ? 



DEFENCE. 37 



IX. DEFENCE. 

1. The public protection is, by the Constitution, en- 
trusted "to the freemen of the Commonwealth, who shall 
be armecjl, organized, and disciplined for its defence, when 
and in such manner as may be directed by law." 

2. This organization of the freemen is called the Mili- 
tary power ; and citizens acting as officers of the civil 
government constitute the civil power. To prevent op- 
pression by the former, the constitution enjoins that " the 
military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict 
subordination to the civil power." 

3. The military power consists of Militia and Volun- 
teers. 

4. The militia is composed of every free able-bodied 
white male between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, 
who has resided in the state one month ; except executive, 
judicial and legislative officers of the United States, includ- 
ing postmasters and mail-carriers ; ministers of religion, 
teachers, and school directors; state judges, sheriffs and 
jailers ; pilots, mariners, and ferrymen ; and persons un- 
fitted to perform duty by infirmity or disability. All these 
are exempt. 

5. The Militiamen are enrolled into Companies^ com- 
manded by captains, Regiments by colonels, Bngades by 
brigadier-generals, and Divisions by major-generals. 

6. In 1845, there were seventeen divisions in the state, 
containing 39 brigades, 174 regiments, 1509 companies, 
and 231,695 men. 

7. The regiments are inspected once a year by an officer 
called the Brigade-Inspector, for which purpose the men 
parade in battalions or Aa//'-regiments. 

8. The Brigade- Inspector has charge of all matters re- 



1. To whom is the pubUc defence 
intrusted ? 

2. To what is the military power 
always to be in subordination '{ 

3. How is the military power di- 
vided ? 

4. "Who are subject to and ex- 
empt from miUtia duty ? 



5. How are the mihtia enrolled 
and commanded ? 

6. How many divisions, brigades, 
regiments, companies and men ? 

7. Who inspects them ? 

8. What are the duties of brigad'* 
inspector ? 



38 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



lating to his brigade in time of peace, and makes his re- 
turns to the adjutant-general of the state. 

9. The Governor is commander in chief of the military 
force. The other officers are elected by their respective 
commands, each for seven years, except the adjutant-ge- 
neral, who is appointed by the Governor, for three years. 

10. Volunteers are citizens who, to perfect themselves in 
military discipline, voluntarily form companies or troops, 
uniform themselves, and meet frequently for drill. Their 
arms are provided by the state. 

11. They elect their own officers, select their uniform, 
and generally adopt regulations for their own government, 
subject to being called into actual service, as militiamen, 
in time of war, unless they offer their services as volun- 
teers. 

12. In 1845, there were 509 volunteer companies in the 
state, containing 32,195 men, composed o{ cavalry y artil- 
lery, infantry and riflemen. 

13. The public arms of the state are preserved in three 
arsenals, one at Philadelphia, one at Harrisburg, and one 
at Meadville. 

14. In time of peace, neither militiamen nor volunteers 
receive pay, except the adjutant-general and brigade-in- 
spectors, and the captains of companies who are allowed 
a small sum for enrolling the men. 

15. In time of war, the number of men required is 
draughted from the different regiments by lot, to serve 
not longer than twelve months at any one time. They 
then receive the same pay and rations as the regular army 
of the United States, and are subject to military law. 

16. All offences against the military law or articles of 
war, are tried by a Court Martial, or board of officers, 
and not by the civil tribunals of the state. 



9. Who is commander in chief? 
How are the other officers chosen, 
and for what term ? 

10. What are volunteers ? 

11. What are their privileges and 
duties ? 

12. How many companies and 
men, and what kind of force ? 



13. What and where are the arse- 
nals ? 

14. Do militiamen or volunteers 
receive pay in time of peace ? 

15. In time of war, how are the 
militia called out and paid ? 

16. How are military offences 
tried ? 



PEFENCE. 



39 



17. In 1845, the militia expenses of the state were 
$18,831 92 ; and the amount of fines paid for not attend- 
ing parade was $7,838 18. 

18. There is another kind of military force employed by some 
Pfovernments for their support and defence, called a standing army. 
I3y this, is understood a regularly uniformed, armed, and disci- 
plined body of soldiers, paid and commanded by the government, 
and constantly retained in service, in peace as well as war. 

19. Neither Pennsylvania nor any other state of the Union pos- , 
sesses a force of this kind ; and, though the general government j 
of the United States has a standing army for the purpose of guard- 
ing the frontiers, and the forts of the nation, yet in time of peace 

it only amounts to about 8000 men, in a population of 20,000,000. 

20. In the monarchical nations of the old world, very large and 
exi)ensive standing armies are always maintained. There they 
form the chief means not only of defence against foreign attack, 
but of sustaining the government, and of keeping the people in 
subjection to the laws. 

21. Under the free and peaceful institutions of Pennsylvania, no 
military force is requisite for these purposes. The degree of know- 
ledge which the citizens possess of their rights and duties, and 
their veneration for the laws, aided by a few judges, justices of 
the peace, sheriffs, constables, and other civil officers, have ge- 
nerally been found amply sufficient to preserve order, administer 
justice, and perform all the operations of government. 

22. Acts of turbulence have, it is true, occasionally disgraced 
the state ; but even these are of much rarer occurrence, and of a ? 
less violent description than under governments supported by * 
the terror and force of immense standing armies. This fact not 
only conclusively shows the greater economy, but the superior 
security and happiness of our republican institutions. 

23. Such having been the result heretofore, it is not unreason- 
able to expect that instances of riot and insubordination will con- 
tinue to decrease, in exact proportion with the spread of sound / 
education, until each citizen's knowledge of his duties shall form 
the only support needed by the civil authority, and the best gua- 
rantee of peace and order. 



17. What was the expense and 
income of the miUtia in 1845? 

18. IVhat is a standing army? 

19. Has Pennsylvania a standing 
army ? Has the united States go- 
vernment ? and what is its number ? 

20. Have other governmeids stand- 
ing armies, and for what purposes ? 



21. How are those purposes ac- 
complished in Pcnns]jlva7iia ? 

22. What is said of insta?ices of 
opposition to the laws that have here- 
tofore occurred in Pennsylvania ? 

23. What is expected to happen 
hereafter? and to what will it be 
owing ? 



40 



STATE- COOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



X. EDUCATION. 

1. A FREE and general means of education, called the 
common school system, is in operation in the greater part 
of the state. 

2. Its object is, and if faithfully administered, its effect 
will be, to confer upon every youth in the Commonwealth 
the elements of a sound, plain education, leaving it to pa- 
rents to bestow, or personal efforts to attain, the higher 
branches. 

3. In 1845, there were 1227 common school districts 
in the whole state, of which 1074 were accepting, and 
153 non-accepting districts. 

4. The accepting districts contained 327,418 pupils, 
taught by 8031 teachers. 

5. The schools were kept open about five months in 
the year, at a cost of 31 J cents per month for each pupil, 
and at the total annual expenditure of $453,155, including 
the expenses of school-houses. 

6. This does not include the city and county of Phila- 
delphia, in which, in 1845, there were 234 public schools, 
containing 36,665 pupils, taught by 554 teachers, during 
the whole year, at a total expense of $227,205 42. 

7. The branches generally taught in the common schools 
are Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, 
and History. 

8. The higher branches were, at the same time, taught in 
about 80 academies, 60 female seminaries, and 9 colleges ; 
the two former containing about 5000 pupils, and the 
latter 1000. 

9. There were also in the state not less than 2000 pri- 
vate schools of the various grades, with about 70,000 
pupils. 



1. What general means of educa- 
tion have we ? 

2. What is its object ? 

3. How many common school dis- 
tricts are there ? 

4. How many pupils and teachers 
m 1845? 

5. How long were the schools 
kept open, and at what cost ? 

6. Slate the number of public 



schools, pupils, duration, and cost 
of instruction in Philadelphia? 

7. What branches are usually 
taught in common schools ? 

8. How many academies, female 
seminaries, and colleges, and how 
many students in them ? 

9. How many private schools and 
pupils ? 



EDUCATION. 



41 



10. The whole number of pupils in the common schools, 
academies, female seminaries, and private schools, includ- 
ing Philadelphia, was about 440,000. 

11. The number of young persons in the state between 
the ages of four and sixteen, in 1845, was about 550,000. 

12. There were, therefore, 110,000 of our youth, over 
four years, who did not attend school. But, as six years 
is early enough for the commencement of school instruction, 
the number absent through carelessness was about 60,000. 

13. It has been usual to stigmatize Pennsylvania as an ignorant 
state; but it would be well for strangers to ascertain whether a 
large portion of the ignorance of which they complain does not 
exist in themselves. 

14. The language, habits, and occupations of a portion of the 
people of this state are found to be different from what many citi- 
zens of other states have been accustomed to. And 1)ecause this 
portion of our people do not happen to be acquainted with their pe- 
culiar language and customs, these strangers at once pronounce us 
an ignorant people. But it should be borne in mind, that the same 
charge of ignorance will come with as much propriety from one side 
as the other, and yet may be well-founded on neither. 

15. Still, it is admitted that the people of Pennsylvania are not 
as highly educated as those of some other states. This is caused 
by the diversity of language^ customs^ and origin, which prevents, in 
many neighbourhoods, that unity of action so indispensable to the 
establishment and support of schools ; by the sparseiiess o{ population, 
in many parts, rendering the eifectual support of schools impossible; 
and by the easy circumstances of many of our citizens, it being 
generally found that a poor people who are compelled to live by 
their wits, become educated sooner than a rich one. In the one 
case education may be the very means of support, in the other only 
an addition to wealth. In both, however, it ought ever to be re- 
garded and desired as an invaluable blessing. 

16. To overcome these difficulties, and bestow this blessing upon 
all, has been the great object of our law-makers since the first set- 
tlement of the state. 

17. In 1683, the year after the province was founded, Governor 
Pennandthe Provincial Council took measures to establish a school 



10. State the probable number 
of pupils in all the schools of the 
slate. 

11. The number of persons be- 
tween four and sixteen years. 

12. The number who do not at- 
tend any school. 

13. Wfiat do many strangers say 
of Fennsylvania ? 

4 



14. Wliy is ihis not altogether 
truei 

15. Why are we less edticated than 
some otiier states 1 

16. Have attempts heen made to 
overcome these diflicitlties ? 

17. W/iat vms done in 1683 ? who 
was the first regular teacher in tlie 
colony ? 



42 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



in Philadelphia. Enoch Flower was the teacher, and seems to have 
been th e^rs^ school-master who taug-ht in Pennsylvania. 

18. The first state Constitution, framed in 1776, by a convention 
of which Dr. Franklin was president, provided for the establish- 
ment of one or more schools in each county, and of one or more 
universities in the state. 

19. The state Constitution of 1790 directed the legislature to 
provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the 
state, in such manner that the poor shall be taught gratis. The 
present Constitution contains the same provision. 

20. Many laws were from time to time enacted to accomplish 
this object, with little success, till the common or equal system 
was adopted. 

21. In 1834, the first general common school law was passed, 
during the administration of Governor TVo/f. It was found defect- 
ive in its details, and was amended, and the system placed on its 
present solid footing, in 1836, during the administration of Gover- 
nor liitner. 

22. By the provisions of this law, each district (township, bo- 
rough, or ward) that accepts the system by a vote of the people, 
at once establishes free schools for the instruction of all the youth 
therein ; the affairs of the schools in each district are managed by 
six directors ; and the expense is defrayed by a fund partly derived 
from the state treasury, and partly from district taxation. 

23. At the end of three years, each accepting district may reject 
the system, if its effects be found unsatisfactory. 

24. [n districts which have either not accepted, or have rejected 
the system, schools for the education of poor children must be esta- 
blished by the directors, and supported by tax. 

25. The main deficiency yet to be remedied, in the results of the 
system, is the shortness of the time during which the schools are 
kept open in the year. But this will gradually decrease as the 
people discover the system to be the most cheap, eflicient, and equal 
they can adopt. 



XI. RELIGION. 



1. There is no religion established by law in Pennsyl- 
vania. Each person is at liberty to follow the dictates of 
his own judgment in this respect, so long as he does not 
violate public order and morality. 



18. What did the first state Con- 
slilulion provide ? 

19. What the second and the pre- 
sent "i 

20. What was attempted by laws ? 

21. When was the first common 
school lato passed, and during whose 
administration ? the preserit, and 
during whose administration ? 



22. What are its general outlines ? 

23. Is it perpetual 1 

24. How are the poor taught in 
non-accepting districts ? 

25. State the main deficiency in 
the results of the common school sys- 
teml 

1. Is there any established religion 
in Pennsylvania ? 



RELIGION. 



43 



2. Nearly all the citizens are attached to one or other 
of the various Christian sects, the majority belonging to 
those that have arisen since the reformation. 

3. The' most numerous of them are Methodists, Presby- 
terians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Friends, 
Mennonists, Lutherans, German Reformed, and Mora- 
vians. 

4. These all have regular church governments of their 
own adoption, with numerous pastors and churches. 
Their pastors are supported by the voluntary contribu- 
tions of the members of the respective congregations or 
societies. 

5. Thouorh there is no established relig-ion, or religious test in 
Pennsylvania, yet the moral code of the Christian system is a part 
of the law of the land. Hence the Christian Sabbath is observed ; 
the Christian Scriptures are used in the administration of all oaths, 
unless objection is made by the person sworn ; the Christian insti- 
tution of the marriaffe of one man to one woman is enforced ; and 
blasphemy of the Christian Deity or Scriptures, together with pro- 
fane cursing and swearing, are punishable by line and imprison- 
ment. 

6. But though the framers of our constitution and laws were 
evidently anxious to engraft the pure morality of the Christian 

.system into the statutes of the state, they were as careful not to 
interfere with the rights of conscience. They have, therefore, not 
enforced any particular sectarian creed. They have not even at- 
tempted to enumerate the creeds that shall be tolerated, because that 
would be only one remove from intolerance. For, if the right to 
select be admitted to belong to mere human authority, the power to 
reject must also be conceded ; and thus the creeds selected for tole- 
ration one year might be excluded the next. 

7. In addition to this, it is the height of arrogance for man to 
declare that the Deity shall only be worshipped in a particular 
manner; if that Being bear with the sins of his creatures, and 
tolerate the errors and imperfections of their worship, it is not for 
them to be less charitable to each other, or to pronounce that to be 
error which he permits. 

8. The safer, wiser, and humbler course, has therefore been 
adopted, of declaring perfect freedom of conscience to be a common 
riirht, leaving each person accountable in this respect only to his 
Creator. 



2. What is the religion most pre- 
valent ? 

3. Name the most numerous sects? 

4. How are they governed ? 

5. What moral code is part of the 
law of our landl 



6. Are the rights of conscience con- 
trolled by law ? 

7. ^Vhat would it be for man to 
prescribe a form of religion to his 
fellow ? 

8. What is the proper course ? 



44 



STATE-BOOK OF PEI^NSYLVANIA. 



9. All that the civil authority requires from the citizen, is that 
he shall not disturb others in the enjoyment of their peculiar reli- 
gious views ; and that his own shall not be such as to violate the 
peace or outrage the great moral principles of the land. 

10. In the case of young persons, the laws give the control of 
their religious instruction to their parents, or such persons as their 
parents shall select. 

1 1 . This right of the parent is not infringed in the least by the 
common school system, sectarian instruction being wholly out of 
place in the public schools. But this salutary exclusion does not 
prohibit the teaching of Christian viorality in those schools. On 
the contrary, such teaching is not only proper but highly necessary, 
inasmuch as Christian morality is a part of the law of the land. 



XII. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

1. In most of the older counties, Poor-houses^ with work- 
shops and hospitals attached, are provided for the support 
and relief of the poor and destitute sick of the county. 

2. Each Poor-house has a large farm connected with 
it, the produce of which is appUed to the support of the 
inmates. The remainder of the expense is paid out of the 
county treasury. 

3. The affairs of the poor-house are managed by a 
board of directors^ (usually six,) who hold their offices for 
three years, and are elected by the citizens of the county. 

4. The Directors appoint a Steward^ who resides in the 
poor-house, and, under their direction, has charge of the 
paupers and of the poor-house and farm. 

5. In counties having no poor-house, the poor are pro- 
vided for by overseers ; two, and in some instances three, 
of whom are annually elected in each township. 

6. It is the duty of overseers to assess a tax upon the 
township, not exceeding one dollar in the hundred, for the 
support of the poor ; and to provide them with employ- 
ment when they are able. 

7. All destitute persons having a legal settlement^ (which 



9. What is reqicired hy the civil 
authority ? 

10. Who has the sole rigid to 
control the religious instruction of 
youth ? 

11. Is this right infringed hy the 
common school system ? 

1. What are poor-houses ? 



2. How are. they supported? 

3. How managed ? 

4. Who is the steward ? 

5. How are the poor provided for 
where there are no poor-houses ? 

6. What is the duty of overseers ? 

7. What is a settlement ? 



CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 



45 



generally means one year's residence) in the county or 
township, are entitled to support from the directors or 
overseers. • 

8. Admission into a poor-house, or relief from overseers, 
can only be obtained by a written order from tw^o, and in 
some counties one justice of the peace of the county. 

9. Destitute orphan children are bound out to trades by 
the directors or overseers ; if males, till they arrive at twenty- 
one years, and if females, till they arrive at eighteen years 
of age. 

10. In the city of Philadelphia, there are Hospitals, 
Houses of Refuge, Lunatic, Blind, and Deaf and Dumb 
Asylums, and other noble Institutions for the relief of suf- 
fering humanity, 

- 11. In many of the smaller towns there are private asso- 
ciations of various kinds, that aflTord much assistance to 
the poor and afflicted. 

12. Our charitable institutions are not based on the narrow prin- 
ciple, that it is better to spare a pittance to a destitute man, than to 
refuse it, and thus compel him to starve or steal ; but on the plain 
and nobler ground, that he has a right to be supported by his more 
fortunate neighbours during his state of destitution. 

13. All who possess the means are bound by every principle 
of religion, morals, and policy, to aid, in a reasonable degree, 
those who are in actual need. The most effectual mode of doing 
this, is by a tax for the purpose of providing support for all the 
poor, and employment for such as are able to work. 

11. If each person, while he have the means, pay this tax, he 
thereby acquires a right, when his means or his health fail, to re- 
ceive the same relief from others. 

15. In this view of the subject, there is neither obligation nor 
disgrace incurred by accepting relief at the hands of the public ; 
and it should never be so understood either by him who receives or 
him who gives. 

16. There are, it is true, many unworthy objects of public bounty 
in our poor-houses and other similar institutions; but who will 



8. How is admission or aid ob- 
tained ? 

9. What is done with destitute 
orphans? 

10. Name some of the charitable 
institutions of Philadelphia ? 

11. What is said of the smaller 
towns ? 

1 2 . iVhat is the foundat ion of our 
charitable instilutio7is ? 



13. What is the duty of all who 
have the means ? 

14. What right does each acquire hy 
the performance of this duty ? 

15. IVhat is said of obligation and 
disgrace ? 

16. What is said of unworthy o6- 
jects of bounty ? 



46 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



venture to designate them 1 and, even if certainly known, who will 
dare to say, " I would have conducted myself better, if I had been 
placed in their circumstances'?" 

1 7. Till this can with propriety be said, the more charitable and 
safe rule is to suppose that misfortune, and not crime or improper 
conduct, has reduced them, and to relieve them accordingly. 

18. That our charitable institutions are not only based on correct 
principles, but generally well managed, is proved by the absence 
of those crowds of paupers from our streets, that render travelling 
so disagreeable in other and especially in older countries. 

19. It is true that the freedom of our institutions, and the abun- 
dance of the necessaries of life and of employment, materially pro- 
mote this happy state of things. But it is also true, that without 
good and well administered laws for the relief of the poor, the 
benefits of these advantages would be impaired if not lost. 



XIII. PRISONS. 



1. No crime is punished capitally , (that is, by taking the 
life of the criminal,) in this state, except murder in the first 
degree^ which means premeditated killing. 

2. All other crimes are punished by fine or imprison- 
ment ^ or by both, according to the enormity of the offence. 

3. Imprisonment for the lighter offences, and for less 
than one year, is inflicted in the J«z7 of the county in which 
the offence was committed. 

4. In the county jails, also, all persons who are only 
accused of crime, are imprisoned till they are tried by the 
proper court. 

5. Generally speaking, prisoners in the county jails are 
not obliged to labour, nor are they subjected to solitary 
confinement. They are only deprived of the liberty of 
leaving the jail, and their diet is bread and water, unless 
they can afford better fare out of their own means. 

6. Persons convicted of the more heinous offences are 
confined in the state penitentiaries , of which there are two ; 
the eastern, at Philadelphia, and the western, at Pittsburg. 



17. Wkal is the safe rule ? 

18. Why may we conclude that our 
charitable institutio7is are based on 
correct principles 1 

19. What is said of the necessity 
of good laws on the subject 1 

1. What is murder m the first de- 
gree, and how punished ? 



2. How arc all other crimes pun- 
ished ? 

3. Where is imprisonment for less 
than one year inflicted ? 

4. What other persons are kept 
in county jails ? 

5. How are they treated ? 

6. What is a penitentiary, and 
liow many ? 



PRISONS. 



47 



7. Each penitentiary is managed by a Board of Inspect- 
ors^ appointed by the judges of the Supreme Court, and 
under them by a warden and other officers. 

8. In these penitentiaries, the convicts are confined sepa- 
rately, day and night, in their cells or rooms, and are not 
permitted to see or converse with any person except the 
officers of the prison. Their victuals are conveyed to them 
through a hole in the door of their cell, and they are con- 
stantly employed at some trade or business, the profit of 
which goes to the support of the penitentiary. 

9. They are neither permitted to see nor hear from their 
friends or relatives ; but are provided with books proper 
for the improvement of their minds ; and the most careful 
attention is paid to their health. 

10. During their confinement, they are clad in the pri- 
son dress. When discharged, at the expiration of their 
sentence, their own clothes are returned to them, with a 
small sum of money to enable them to reach home, or to 
support them till they obtain some honest employment. 

il. This kind of punishment is called solitary confine- 
ment with labour^ and is said to be very terrible. The 
most daring and hardened offenders soon become subdued 
by it. They complain of the awful loneliness and w^eari- 
ness of being kept in the same room, day after day, and 
year after year, without seeing a friendly face, or hearing 
a human voice. 

12. The object of punishment is three-fold: 1. To deprive the 
oifender of the power of repeating the offence ; 2. To deter others 
from following- the evil example ; and, 3. To reform the offender. 

13. Duty to society renders the two first imperative upon law- 
makers and magistrates. The good of the individual, as well as 
duty to society, dictates the last. 

14. All these objects seem to be as fully promoted by the Penn- 
sylvania system of solitary confinement with labour, as is practi- 
cable by merely human means in the present state of human nature. 

15. It is, however, melancholy to reflect, that the general condi- 



7. How managed ? 

8. How are the convicts confined, 
fed, and employed? 

9. How are they otherwise treated ? 

10. How are they clad, and what 
takes place on their discharge ? 

11. What is this kind of punish- 
ment called, and what are its effects ? 



12. What are the objects of punish- 
ment ? 

13. What duties render them ne- 
cessary I 

14. Are they promoted by the peni- 
tentiary system ? 

15. Are they counteracted by many 
of the county jails ? 



48 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



tion of our county jails, and the system of discipline prevailing in 
them, counteract or prevent nearly all the good effects of the peni- 
tentiaries. 

16. All offenders, previous to trial, and most young and first 
offenders after trial, are thrown into these schools of iniquity, with 
almost the certainty of coming out more depraved than when com- 
mitted. 

17. Every grade of criminal, from the old adept to the novice — 
all sexes, and ages, and colours — the drunkard, the thief, and the 
forger, are brought into contaminating contact with the merely un- 
fortunate, or unjustly suspected prisoner. The result is, that the 
jail, instead of being a warning from, is but the preparatory depart- 
ment for the penitentiary ; and when the regularly trained graduate 
in vice thus finally reaches his cell in the latter, it is with habits so 
hardened as to be beyond hope of reformation. 

18. A few counties have redeemed themselves from this reproach. 
Philadelphia, Chester, Dauphin, and Allegheny, have prisons so con- 
structed as not to be schools of crime. 

19. The same beneficent spirit which supports the schools of the 
state at so vast an expense, for the purpose of bestowing useful 
knowledge and sound morality upon the rising generation, ought to 
compel the counties to provide prisons calculated at least not to 
counteract reformation. 

20. If cost is to be taken into account on such a subject, the de- 
crease of crime, and the produce of the labour of prisoners would 
soon prove the economy of properly constructed and regulated 
county prisons. 



XIV. PROPERTY AND PRODUCTIONS. 

1. The value of property, both real and personal, 
in the whole state, assessed for taxation in 1845, was 
$420,296,130. 

2. But as property is always assessed for the purposes 
of taxation at much less than its actual value, and as a 
vast amount of property is not assessed at all, the real 
amount of the whole property, real and personal, in this 
state, may be safely put down at more than double that 
sum. 



16. Who are thrown into them ? 

17. What is usually the result of 
this contact ? 

18. Wliich counties have proper 
prisons ? 

19. What spirit ought to compel 
the other counties to erect proper pri- 
sons ? 



20. What would be the result, even 
as regards expense ? 

1. What was the assessed value 
of all the property in Pennsylvania, 
in 1845? 

2. What was its probable actual 
value ? 



PROPERTY AND PRODUCTIONS. 49 



3. The PRODUCTIONS of a country such as ours, are usu- 
ally divided into those of the Field, the Shop, the Mine, 
and the Forest. 

4. Our agricultural productions, or those of the Field, 
are the largest in amount, and the first in importance. 
They are: wheat, corn,' oats, rye, barley, potatoes, buck- 
wheat, hay, fax, hemp, betf, pork, muilon, poultry, and 
fruit. 

5. Penr^sylvania ranks third among the agricultural 
states of the Union, Ohio being first, and N. York second. 

6. The chief productions of the Mine are : coal, iron, 
salt, limestone, marble, and slate; with various other useful 
and valuable minerals, which will be specified in describ- 
ing the counties in which they occur. 

7. In mmeral wealth, Pennsylvania stands at the head 
of the Union. 

8. The productions of the workshop, or Manufactures, 
are : all kinds of articles formed o^ grain, metal, wood, cot- 
ton, wool, flax, Itemp, stone, clay, leather, 8fc. 

9. In this branch of industry, Pennsylvania holds about 
the fourth rank in the Union, and is rapidly rising. 

10. She formerly held the first place in the production 
of ardent spirits, but has recently been losing rank and 
gaining character in this respect. 

11. The productions of the Forest, or Lumber, are : pine, 
oak, hemlock or spruce, chestnut, hickory, locust, ash, wild 
cherry, walnut, poplar, maple, ^'c. 

12. The quantity of lumber annually floated from the 
northern and mountainous counties is very great, ranking 
Pennsylvania about the third lumber state in the Union. 

13. The vnliio of tlio productions of Pennsylvania cannot be 
known by the amount exported. In some of the oppressed countries 



3. How are productions usually 
divided ? 

4. N ame those of the field ? 

5. Wliat is our agricultural rank 
in the Union ? 

6. Name our chief products of the 
mine ? 

7. What is our rank in mineral 
wealth ? 

8. What are the chief products of 
the shop formed of? 



9. What is our rank in this re- 
spect ? 

10. What is said of ardent spi- 
rits ? 

11. Name the different kinds of 
lumber. 

12. What is our rank as a lumber 
stale? 

13. Why cannot the value of our 
product W71S be easily ascertained^. 



5 



50 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



of the Old World, where nearly the whole produce of the peasants' 
industry is sold to pay his rent or his taxes, this mode may pre- 
sent a near approach to the actual amount produced ; little, and that 
of the coarsest kind, being left for the support of the producer. 

14. Happily here it is quite different. Few people in the world 
live better than those of Pennsylvania ; the first object of the pro- 
ducer, especially in agriculture and the smaller mechanic arts, being 
to provide for the wants of his own family and immediate neigh- 
bours. The quantity actually exported from the state is, therefore, 
only the excess remaining after the supply of this home consumption. 

15. The same maybe said of the productions of the mine and the 
forest, a very large proportion of each never reaching a market be- 
yond our own limits. 

16. This ability in our citizens to appropriate the greater part of 
the products of their labour to their own use and comfort, has also 
had the effect of introducing a vast variety of employments among 
them, and of heretofore preventing that general prevalence of any 
one, agriculture excepted, which is usually the parent of excellence. 

17. A poor people may be driven by necessity, or an oppressed 
one by tyranny, so sedulously and constantly to devote themselves 
to some particular occupation, as to become eminently proficient in 
its exercise. From this kind of productive excellence, our state 
has thus far been fortunately preserved. Nor is it desirable, even 
if it were possible, that she shall ever become so great a manufac- 
turing, or even mining community, as to destroy her agricultural 
habits. 

18. Her immense mineral resources, her water-power, the indus- 
trious habits of her people, and the large amount of her inactive 
capital, will, beyond all question, raise her high in the scale of 
manufacturing productiveness. But agricultural habits, and inte- 
rests, and wealth, will, it is believed, ever predominate over all 
others, and preserve her present reputation for varied industry, strict 
integrity, and unyielding independence. 



XV. ANIMALS. 

1. These are usually divided into beasts, buds, fishes, 
reptiles, and insects. 

2. Beasts are either tame or wild. 

3. The principal tame beasts or domestic animals of 
Pennsylvania, are the horse, cow, sheep, hog, dog, and cat, 



14. How do the people of Pennsyl- 
vania live, and what portion of their 
agricultural productio/is do they ex- 
port ? 

15. What portion of those of the 
mine and the forest ? 

16. What effect has this had on 
imployments ? 



17. How may necessity he the pa- 
rent of excellence ? 

18. JVliat is said of manufactures 
and of agricultural habits 1 

1. How are animals divided ? 

2. Hovv are beasts divided ? 

3. Which are the principal tame 
beasts ? 



ANIMALS. 



61 



which are found in great numbers in every part of the 
state. 

4. The chief t^?7(^ beasts are : those of prey ^ as the 6e«r, 
wolf y panther ot catainount, raccoon, fox, mink, and weasel ; 
and those not of prey, as the deer, rabbit, squirrel, ground- 
hog, opossum, musk-rat, and skunk. 

5. Of these, the bear, wolf, panther, and deer, are now 
exceedingly rare. 

6. When Pennsylvania was first discovered, it contained 
numbers of buffalo, elk, beaver, and other valuable wild 
animals, but they have wholly disappeared. 

7. The Birds are also either tame or wild. The tame 
fowl, are : turkeys, geese, hens, ducks, pea-fowl, guinea-fowl, 
and pigeons. 

8. The wild Land-birds are : the bald-eagle, buzzard, 
hawk, crow, owl, pheasant, partridge or quail, plover, wood- 
cock, snipe, wild-pigeon, dove, robin, lark, thrush, black- 
bird, m,ocking-bird, cat-bird, whippoorwill, wood-pecker, 
Jiecker, jay, king-bird, marten, swallow, pee-weet, blue- 
bird, red-bird, reed-bird, snow-bird, sparrow, hanging-bird, 
wren, humming-bird, with many others. 

9. The wild Water-fowl are : swans, geese, many kinds 
of ducks, &c. Of wild-fowl, the pheasant, partridge, 
wood-cock, snipe, wild-pigeon, goose, and duck, with 
some others, are used for food. 

10. The ivild-turkey was formerly common in Pennsyl- 
vania, but is now rarely met. 

11. The Fish of our streams are numerous. The shad, 
herring, rock-fish, and eel, ascend the rivers that empty 
into the Atlantic, in the spring. 

12. In the other streams are found pike, perch, cat-fish, 
sun-fish, suckers, carp, mullet, &c. 

13. The sturgeon is taken in the Delaware. < 

14. In the clear mountain streams, large numbers of 
excellent trout are met. 



4. Wild beasts ? 

5. Which are rare ? 

6. Which have disappeared ? 

7. How are birds divided ? Name 
the tame ? 

8. Name the wild land-birds ? 

9. The wild water-fowl ? 



10. What about the wild-turkey? 

11. Which fish ascend the rivers 
from the sea ? 

12. Which are found in the other 
streams ? 

13. Where is the sturgeon found ? 

14. Where the trout ? 



52 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



15. In Lake Erie, the celebrated white-fish and the 
large lake trout abound. 

16. In the Ohio and its tributaries, besides most of the 
fresh-water fish found in the eastern streams, the large 
perch or white- salmon., the bubbler, several species of fresh 
water herring, and exceedingly large cat-fish are taken. 

17. Of Reptiles, none are venemous in Pennsylvania, 
except the rattle-snake, copper-head, and viper. The hiss- 
ing viper, black, garter, house, water, and other snakes are 
harmless. 

18. Land and snapping tortoises, and terrapins, are 
numerous. 

19. There are many kinds of frog, as the bull, shad, 
and tree frogs, and the common toad ; with numerous 
other smaller reptiles. 

20. There are a multitude of Insects, of which the 
common house fly and the musquito are the most annoy- 
ing, the butterfly the most beautiful, and the locust the 
most interesting. 

21. South-eastern Pennsylvania is noted for teams of large 
strong^ horses, called " Conesfogo teams.^^ They are not of any 
peculiar breed, but the fruit of good care and food. Our farmers 
house and feed their colts carefully during the winter, and thus 
bring them to their full size and strength. 

22. In the western country, on the other hand, where many 
horses are raised for sale, little attention is paid them, till they are 
four years old. Before that age, they are permitted almost wholly 
to shift for themselves, both in summer and winter. This want 
of care, though it renders them hardy, has the effect of stunting 
their growth, and preventing the full development of their shapes. 

23. The horned caitle of the state have been greatly improved 
within the few past years. The mixture of Durham^ Devon, and 
other improved blood has much increased their size, and added to 
their beauty. 

24. Still it is not by any means certain, that the full-blood of any 
of these imported breeds is suitable to our climate, which is much 
more severe than they have been accustomed to. Unless they re- 



15. What fish in Lake Eiie ? 

16. In the Ohio? 

17. Which reptiles are venemous ? 

18. What of tortoises? 

19. What of frogs? 

20. What of insects? which most 
annoying, most beautiful, most in- 
teresting ? 



21. What is said of Conestoro 
horses ? 

22. Why are they of large size ? 

23. What change has taken place 
in cattle ? 

24. Does our climate stcit foreign 
stock ? 



A>nMALS. 53 



ceive better food, and greater care than the native animals require, 
they do not seem to thrive. It may be, however, that when these 
breeds become fully acclimated, they will be more profitable. 

25. Still their importation has been beneficial, the cross or half- 
breed between them and the native stock, being, beyond all question, 
a very hardy and superior animal. Both size and shape are im- 
proved ; maturity is hastened ; capacity for fat is enlarged ; and in 
the females, the quantity of milk is increased. 

26. Within the last thirty years, the number of sheep in the state 
has been greatly increased, and their quality improved in the same 
proportion. In some counties many thousands of Merino, Saxony, 
and other fine-wooled sheep are now owned. In others, the Bake- 
well, South-down, and other animals with long and comparatively 
fine fleeces, and superior mutton are raised. Few farmers in any 
part of the state are now without a flock of these useful creatures. 

27. The breed of swine has also been greatly improved. Instead 
of the old " wood-breed," with sun-fish backs, greyhound legs, 
and elephant snouts, the long-bodied, short-legged, small-headed, 
light-boned, Berkshire and other improved kinds are commonly 
met. These are not only much more easily fattened, but can with 
less difficulty be kept out of mischief. 

28. In the well-settled parts of the state, hunting and/oio/Zng- are 
now reduced to very narrow limits. Occasionally in the fall and 
winter, a fox-hunt takes place ; and in the northern counties a few 
deer are still chased, and some wild turkeys are shot. 

29. Partridge, pheasant, wood-cock, wild-pigeon, duck, and 
squirrel shooting, in their several seasons, still afford sport to the 
lovers of fowling in most parts of the state. 

30. These seem to be legitimate game for the gunner. But the 
practice of shooting robins^ larks, black-birds, tom-tiis, and other 
small birds, is neither sportsman-like nor proper. Some farmers 
justify the practice, on the ground that these little birds destroy 
their grain. But if closely observed in the field, it will be found 
that they are generally in pursuit of noxious insects ; and, that 
though they do occasionally make free with a grain of corn or 
wheat, their favourite food and chief object are the cut-worm, grub, 
and fly, against whose ravages, if these friends of the farmer be 
destroyed, he will have no protection. 

31. Before our rivers and creeks were obstructed by dams, shad 
ascended to the northern part of the state, and penetrated every 
creek of any size. They are now confined to the lower waters of 



25. How lias the foreign blood im- 
proved our stock ? 

26. How have sheep been improved 1 

27. Have swine been improved ? 

28. Tlliat change has taken place 
in hunting and fowling ? 



29. What kinds of shooting are 
still practised ? 

30. Whj/ ought the smaller birds 
to be spared ? 

31. Do shad ascend, the streams as 
high as formerly ? JVhy ? 



54 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



the Delaware and Susquehanna, v/here, in the spring, they are taken 
in large numbers. 

32. TrOiii-jithiiig, in a clear cool mountain brook, on a pleasant 
autumn day, is an ao;reeablc amusement. 

33. As the beasts^ birds, and fishes, have been permitted to man 
for food, there seems to be no sound reason why the taking- of 
them may not be pursued in such a manner as to afford him plea- 
sure. The only proper restrictions are, that no unnecessary pain 
be inflicted upon the animal ; and that only so many as are re- 
quired for actual use shall be taken at any one time. In other 
words, cruelty and waste are to be avoided. 




View of a Farm- House and Ear 



XVI. AGRICULTURE. 

1. Agriculture means the culture of land ^ for the pur- 
pose of raising food and other necessaries of life. It is, 
therefore, the most useful of all occupations. 

2. The land occupied by one family for agriculture, is 
called a farm. In this state farms are about one hundred 
acres in extent, and cost from $10 to |100 per acre. 



32. What is said of trout -Jisking '? 

33. What restrictions are to he 
observed in fowling and fishing 1 



1. What is agriculture ? 

2. What is a farm ? 



AGRICULTURE. 



66 



3. They are either grain or pasture farms, and, as each 
includes a garden, horticulture is also a portion of the 
.farmer's business. 

4. To constitute a farm, there must be a certaiii quan- 
tity of land divided into fields^ in some of which crops are 
raised, and in others tlie farm animals pastured. 

5. There must also be a house for the farmer, and a barn 
and stables, with cribs, pens, and yards, to contain the 
crops and live-stock. 

6. There must also be live-stock, consisting of horses 
and oxen, to work the land, and cows, steers, sheep, hogs, 
and poultry, to furnish milk, butter, meat, wool, eggs, &c. 

7. There must also be farming implements, such as 
ploughs, harrows, w^agons, carts, scythes, cradles, rakes, 
flails, or thrashing-machines, grain-fans, hoes, spades, 
shovels, forks, &c. 

8. And, finally, there must be 7i farmer and his family, 
able and willing to use these implements; for without con- 
stant human labour, a farm will soon again become a part 
of the wilderness. 

9. The chief crops raised in Pennsylvania are : wheat, 
corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, hay,jlax, turnips, 
pumpkins, \'c. 

10. Wheat, in good land, and with proper care, yields 
about 20 bushels to the acre ; corn, 50 ; oats, 40; rye and 
barley, 30 ; potatoes from 100 to 200; and hay, from 1 to 
3 tons. Buckwheat, flax, turnips, and pumpkins vary 
much, according to the season. 

11. Wheat and rye are mostly sown in fall, and the 
other grains in the spring. They are all cut or harvested 
in July or August, except corn, buckw^ieat, potatoes, tur- 
nips, and pumpkins, which are gathered in October and 
November. 

12. Hay is chiefly clover, timothy, or natural grass. 
Clover is sown in the spring, timothy in the fall, and natu- 



3. How many kinds of farms? 
what is horticulture ? 

4. What divisions has a farm ? 

5. What buildings? 
fi. What animals ? 

7. What implements ? 

8. What persons ? 



y. What are the chief crops in 
PennsylvaTiia? 

10. What is the yield of each per 
acre ? 

11. When are the grains sown and 
cut? 

12. When the grasses ? 



56 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



ral grass grows spontaneously. They are all cut or made 
in June, July, and Aui^ust. 

13. In the northern counties, and on the Ujountains' 
generally, neither wheat nor corn grow in large quantities. 
The other crops succeed well in every part of the state 
where the land is fit for tillage. 

14. On posture-Jrirms, the chief business of the farmer 
is to provide hay and other fodder for the horses, cattle, and 
sheep, during the winter. In summer, there is less work 
than on grain farms. 

15. Proper manure is as indispensable to a farm as in- 
dustry and skill. Manures are either animal^ vegetable^ or 
vmieral. 

16. minimal manure is stable and other ojfal^ guano^ 
g7'ound bones, &;c. Vegetable consists of clover and other 
green or dry crops ploughed down, also ashes. Mineral^ 
is /me, plaster of Paris, (gypsum,) or soil, either in its 
native state, burned, or in the form of compost. 

17. As the farmer raises more than his own family and stock 
need, his prosperity must depend on the price he receives for the 
excess. Experience shows that when wheat, which g^enerally 
regulates the price of other articles, sells for about $1 a bushel in 
market, the general prosperity, or " times," as it is called, is best. 

18. When it falls materially below that sum, the cost of the la- 
bour to produce it is so great in proportion to the price, as not to leave 
a sufficient compensation for the farmer, and then he suffers. 

19. When it rises much above that price, many persons, who do 
not raise, but bui/ their bread, find difficulty in procuring the means 
to do so, and then they suffisr. 

20. This is owing to the fact, that the price of labour does not 
constantly and equally change in proportion to that of bread. 

21. 'ilierefore, when bread is high and labour low in comparison, 
the wages of the labourer are not sufficient to purchase enough for 
his family. 

22. But when bread is very low, and wages high in proportion, 
the labourer does not derive so much benefit as might be expected ; 



13. What is said of the northern 
and mountain counties? 

14. What is a pasture-farm ? 

15. How are manures divided ? 

16. Name the manures, animal, 
vegetable, and mineral. 

17. 0?i what does the profit of the 
farmer depend, and which article 
regulates the price of the rest ? 



18. What is the effect of a low price 
for wheat ? 

19. Of a high price ? 

20. Why is this ? 

2 1 . How does dear bread and cheap 
labour affect the labourer ? 

22. Ivhy does he not derive much 
benefit from cheap bread 1 



AGRICULTURE. 



57 



for then the farmer bein^ unable to employ him as much as when 
produce brought a better price, his earnings are less in amount. 

23. Hence, it seems that any arrangement that would have the 
effect, either of keeping the price of wheat steady at about $1, or 
of causing the price of labour to rise and fall in exact proportion 
with that of wheat, would be a great public benefit. 

2i. In the older and well-improved counties, farms are generally 
divided into about six fields. One is in grass for pasture, and one 
for hay. Two are sown with wheat or rye. One is planted with 
corn, and one with oats, barley, potatoes, &c. 

25. In the northern counties, and in the more newly settled parts, 
this arrangement does not exist, but divisions and crops are varied 
to suit the soil and climate. 

2G. Within the few past years, the art of agriculture has been 
much aided by the introduction of improved farming implements. 
It would not be too much to say that the agricultural produce of 
the state has been increased at least one-third by the mere use of 
the cultivator, or corn-harrow, the horse-rake, and the threshing- 
machine. 

27. They have certainly decreased human labour in at lenst that 
proportion ; and consequently, if the amount of labour, applied be- 
fore their introduction, be still applied with their aid, of which there 
is no doubt, a proportionate increase of produce must be the result. 

28. When the various hoeings and hand-dressings required by 
a corn-field, fifty years ago, are contrasted with the ease and speed 
of its cultivation now, the benefit of improved implements will at 
once be perceived. 

29. The course or routine of crops during a succession of years, 
in the older counties, has long been settled by experience. Sod or 
grass land is ploughed in the f^ll, or early in the spring, for corn. 
Next year, oats, barley, or potatoes are planted. The third year 
wheat is sown with a dressing of manure, and if the soil be not 
very strong, it is then laid down in grass. But if in good heart, 
w^heat or rye is sown the fourth year. It is then put into grass, 
mostly clover, with a small portion of timothy, and pastured or 
mown for two or three years, when it is again broken up for corn. 

30. If the majority of farmers be asked the reason for this par- 
ticular succession of crops, they will probably answer, that expe- 
rience has taught them and their ancestors, that each of these crops 
yields better after the one preceding it in this order, than after any 
other. Bat why this is so, few can tell. 



23. JVhat seems to be required to 
correct these evils ? 

24. How many fields usually in a 
farm in the older counties ? 

25. In the newer counties ? 

26. Have farming implements been 
much improved latterly ? Name some 
of them. 



27. How, a?id hoto much have they 
added to production ? 

28. Ivhat is said of a corn-field in 
old times, and now 1 

29. What is the usual course of 
crops ? 

30. What reasons are usually 
given for this course? 



58 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



31. Attention to some well-settled facts and sound principles, 
may lead to correct conclusions on this subject. 

33. In the first place : Few soils are so rick as to yield full crops 
of the same kind of plant several years in succession. 

33. The reason of this is, that each plant draws from the soil 
certain ing-redients proper for its own formation, and no other. If, 
therefore, it be planted year after year in the same field, it must ex- 
haust the field of those ingredients, and thus deprive it of the power 
to support the plant. 

34. In some parts of the state, there are a few river bottoms, so 
rich and deep in vegetable soil, as to produce corn or wheat many 
years in succession. But this only proves that those bottoms are 
so exceedingly strong as to bear many crops without exhaustion. 

35. In the second place: Particular classes cf crops, for instance, 
grain after roots, roots after grass, and grass after grain, are found 
to succeed better than a succession of the same crops, or even of crops 
of the same class. 

36. The reason is, that each crop taking from the soil only the 
particular ingredients proper for its own formation, those substances 
in the soil which are not needed by it, but are needed by some other 
crop, remain dormant in the ground till that other crop arrives to 
absorb them. Therefore, a succeeding crop ought to be as dissimi- 
lar from its predecessor as possible. 

37. In the third place : Certain crops which exhaust the soil of the 
substances proper for their own reproduction, seem actually to enrich 
it for the production of certain other crops. 

38. This is said to be owing to the fact, that not only do all 
plants absorb from the soil the ingredients which they require, but 
that being living organic bodies, with a digestive and circulating 
system, they actually reject and deposit in the earth, through their 
roots, as excrement, the matter not fitted for their support. And 
that this rejected matter, though poisonous to their own class, is, 
like all similar matter, calculated to promote the growth of other 



39. With these facts in view, it is no longer astonishing that 
wheat cannot be easily made to thrive after corn, but will grow as 
well after turnips or beets, without, as after oats or corn with ma- 
nure ; that the application of lime, or gypsum, (which is but another 
form of lime,) promotes the growth of corn and clover, both these 
plants requiring large quantities of lime ; and that permitting a field 



31. Wheiice may right conclusions 
be derived ? 

32. Are soils rich enough to bear a 
long succession of the same crops l 

33. Why? 

34. Why are some few tracts ca- 
pable of producing many crops ? 

35. Are dissimilar crops found to 



succeed better after each other than 
similar 1. 

36. Whyt. 

37. Do some crops seem to enrich 
the soil for the production of others 
of a different kind 1 

38. Whyl 

39. What do these facts explain ? 



AGRICULTURE. 



59 



to rest in grass several years, from the production of grain, restores 
its power to yield trrain. 

40. There is not space here to enumerate the various component 
ingredients of plants, or of soils. But these remarks may lead the 
mind to other sources of information on the subject. 

41. In addition to the benefit to be derived from a skilful succes- 
sion of crops, ])roductiveness is also greatly and chiefly increased 
by proper manures. 

42. The use and mode of applying stable manure, clover, lime, 
and gypsum, are so general and well understood, as to require no 
explanation here. 

43. The benefit of composts is not so fully known or appreciated. 

44. Compost is a manure generally composed of soil or vegetable 
mould, (most frequently taken from bottom land,) mixed with small 
quantities of stable manure. 

45. The simplest mode of preparing it, is to cart the soil into a 
large heap during the winter, and to apply the stable-manure as it 
is hauled together. After remaining a few weeks, it is then dug or 
turned over, and well mixed together with the spade. This pro- 
cess is repeated two or three times during the summer, and then it 
is applied to the wheat land in the fall. 

46. This kind of manure has the advantage not only of stimulat' 
incr into action the productive powers of the land, but of adding to, 
and permanently sustaining them. 

47. Another and easier, but not so effectual, mode of adding to 
the manure of a farm, is to cart vegetable mould to the manure heap 
in the barn-yard. 

48. On the whole it may be said, that though Pennsylvania is 
one of the foremost farming states in the Union, and farming the 
most important business pursued by her citizens, yet that the science, 
and consequently the true practice of agriculture, is still in its 
infancy. 



40. What is the object of these re- 
marks ? 

41 . What is another, and the chief 
means of increasing productiveness 1 

42. Which manures are well un- 
derstood ? 

43. Which is not ? 



44. What is compost ? 

45. How is it commonly prepared ? 

46. What is the advantage of it? 

47. What is an easier way to make 
iti 

48. What is said of the science of 
agriculture in Pennsylvania 1 



60 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 




k Faciones. 



XVII. MANUFACTURES. 

1. PvIanufactures are of two classes: The smaller j 
which are made m private families, for their own use, or 
by separate mechanics for retail ; and the larger^ which are 
produced in factories for wholesale or exportation. 

2. In a wealthy, populous agricultural state, like Penn- 
sylvania, the value of the smaller manufactures greatly ex- 
ceeds that of the larger. 

3. They consist of clothings and other articles for 
domestic use made in families, together with all those 
made by hlacksmiihSy cabinet-makers, shoemakers, weavers, 
tailors, hatters, and mantuamakers ; coach, wagon, and 
farming-implement makers, and saddlers; carpenters, 
masons, chair-makers, painters, and coopers ; tin, copper, 
Rnd gun-smiths ; watch-makers, silver- smiths, and jewellers ; 
confectioners, tobacconists, and tallow-chandlers, &c. 

4. The larger manufactures are those fabricated at 
jlour-mills, iron-furnaces, forges, rolling-mills, foundries. 



1. Name and describe the 
classes of manufactures ? 

2. Which is most valuable ? 



3. Name the smaller? 

4. The larger manufactures? 



MANUFACTURES. 61 



nailj and edge-tool factories ; cotton^ woolleri, and carpet 
factories; distilleries, and hreweties ; salt-works; olass- 
factories, tanneries, diXid paper-mills ; rope-walks, and sldp- 
yards, &c. 

5. Nearly all the articles produced by these factories 
are used in the state, except flour, iron, whisky, salt, and 
glass, of which large quantities are exported. 

6. Manufactures of all kinds add to the actual wealth 
of a state, to the amount of the difference between the 
price of the raw material of which they are composed, 
and that of the manufactured article ; the additional value 
being the compensation for the labour expended in eflect- 
ing the change. 

7. They also enrich the community, by causing an in- 
creased home demand, and enlarged price for agricultural 
and other articles ; manufacturers being obliged to buy all 
they eat, wear, and use. 

8. The value of all the manufactures of Pennsylvania, 
great and small, in 1845, was at least $35,000,000. 

9. Previous to the war of 1812, the United States, including 
Pennsylvania, were contented to produce the raw materials, to 
carry them for manufacture to other countries, and when manu- 
factured, to hring them home ag^ain or deal in them in every part 
of the civilized world. In other words, they were a gve^t produc- 
ing and commercial^ but not a manufacturing people. 

10. When the war broke out, and interrupted their commerce, 
they found themselves deprived of the manufactured articles that 
had before been imported from foreign countries. 

11. This led to the adoption of a system of laws and measures 
for the promotion of domestic or home manvfactiires, that tlie coun- 
try might be independent of foreign supply. This was called the 
tariff or protective system, by which a heavy duty was imposed on 
the manufactured articles of other nations, for the purpose of secur- 
ing the home market to our own. 

12. During the last thirty years, this system, aided by the cnter- 



5. Which of their products are 
consumed in the state, and which 
exported ? 

6. How much do manufactures 
add to the wealth of a country ? 

7. How else do they enrich it ? 

8. What was the value of manu- 
factures in Pennsylvania in 1845 ? 



9. Were the TJiiitcd States a inunv- 
facturing nation before the war of 
1812? 

10. How did tliat war affect ns ? 

11. IVhut system did this state of 
things produce ? 

12. What has been the effect of the 
tariff during the last thirty years ? 



62 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



prise and ingenuity of our citizens, and the cheapness of much of 
the raw material, has been so successful, that the country can now 
compete, in cheapness and goodness ofmany manufactured articles, 
with any nation in the world, not only at home but in foreign 
markets. 

13. The protective system, having thus effected its object with 
regard to many articles, is no longer absolutely requisite for them ; 
but others, such as zVon, woul^ woollen goods, coal, salt, &c., still re- 
quire it ; though the time seems rapidly approaching, when even 
they will no longer need its aid. 

14. But, as it happens that the articles still demanding protection 
are among the great staples of this state, her interest in its continu- 
ance, till the whole object shall be accomplished, seems obvious 
and direct. Her claim to have it continued seems equally strong. 
Having acquiesced in the operation of the system, while other 
states and other interests required it, it is but fair that it shall now 
be continued while she needs it. 

15. The smaller manufactures of the state are, of course, pro- 
duced in every part of her territory. 

16. The larger are chiefly confined to the older and populous 
districts, or to the points where the raw article is largely produced, 
or fuel most abundant. 

17. Hence it is, that cotton and woollen factories are most nume- 
rous near Philadelphia and Pittsburg, labour being there most abund- 
ant and cheapest. 

18. Iron is wrought in the counties containing the mines, and 
the char or mineral coal ; salt is produced where the brine is found ; 
and glass is chiefly made at Pittsburg. 

19. Flour-mills, which are more numerous than any other kind 
of factory, are found in great numbers in every part of the state 
where wheat is raised. Distilleries, tanneries, paper-mills, &;c., 
are also established in almost every county. 

20. Nearly all the flour-mills, except those in large towns, are 
driven by water. So are most furnaces, forges, and rolling and 
paper-mills. Factories and mills of all kinds in large towns are 
generally driven by steam, as are some in the country. 

21. The convenience of having factories in or near towns, where 
labour is abundant, is found to more than compensate for the cost 
of the fuel necessary to produce steam, as a driving force instead 
of water-power. 



13. Which articles still require its 
protection ? 

14. Are these the staple articles of 
Pennsylvania ? and what claim has 
she that they shall still he pro- 
tected ? 

15. Where are the smaller manu- 
factures fabricated ? 

16. Where the larger ? 

17. Why are cotton and woollen 



factories generally found near or in 
large towns ? 

18. Where is iron made, and why ? 
salt, and why ? glass ? 

19. Where are flour-mills, distil- 
leries, tanneries, ^-c, found"? 

20. What factories are driven by 
water ? vihat by steam 1 

21. Why is steam found to he 
cheaper than water in some factories ? 



COMMERCE. 



63 



22. While manufactories give occupation to our unemployed hands, 
create a demand for t}ie raw materials produced in this or the sister 
states, and increase the consumption and price of a'^ricultural pro- 
ductions, they will he hig-hly beneficial. But, should they ever so 
greatly increase as to hecome the chief business of the state, to the 
destruction of her agricultural character and habits, it may then be 
discovered, that increased business and wealth have been attained 
at the expense of happiness and independence. Of this change, 
hoAvever, there is little present danger. 




V lew o! a Merchaiii ,^liip 



XVIII. COMMERCE. 

1. Commerce is the business of buying from them the 
articles which persons or communities have to spare; and 
of selling to them others which they need, and is usually 
transacted by merchcmts. 

2. The commerce of Pennsylvania is either Foreign, 
when it is with other nations ; Domestic, when with our 
sister states ; or Internal, when between citizens of our 
own state. 



22. How long tinll mannfactorirs 
be henejicialt. under what circum- 
stances may they hecome injuri- 
ous ? 



1. What is commerce, and by 
whom transacted ? 

2. How many kinds in Pennsyl- 
vania ? 



64 STATE- BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

3. Merchants are either wholesale^ who buy and sell 
articles in large quantities; or retail, who sell single articles, 
or in small quantities. 

4. The Merchandise imported or brought into Pennsyl- 
vania, from foreign countries, are : cotton, woollen, and silk 
goods; tea, coffee, and sugar; wines, spirits, ^nd fruit ; 
china, queensware, and glass ; cutlery and hardware of all 
kinds ; salt, molasses, hides, and many other articles. 

5. The articles exported, or sent to foreign countries, are : 
Jlour, grain, whisky, beef, pork, lumber , potashes , Sfc. 

6. The foreign commerce of the state is all carried on 
at Philadelphia, which is our only seaport. In 1845 
the exports amounted to $3,574,363, and the imports to 
$8,159,227. 

7. The imports have always been greater than the ex- 
ports, though the difference is now gradually becoming 
less, in consequence of the increase of home produc- 
tion. 

8. The Do7nestic commerce of Pennsylvania consists in 
cotton, and cottoji and woollen goods, tobacco, sugar, rice, 
live-stock, fish, oil, pork, lard, tar, and turpentine, which 
she receives from the other states ; and in flour, grain, 
coal, iron, lumber, butter, cheese, and foreign merchandise, 
which she sells to them. 

9. Domestic commerce is carried on at Philadelphia, 
Pittsburg, and Erie, and through the numerous rivers, 
canals, railroads, turnpikes, and common roads, that in all 
directions connect Pennsylvania with the other states. 

10. The exports of this commerce are considerably 
greater than the imports, though their channels are so nu- 
merous that it is impossible to ascertain the precise amount 
of either. 

11. Internal commerce embraces all that is sold by and 
to citizens of the state, at the numerous stores, workshops^ 



3. How are merchants divided ? 

4. What foreign merchandise is 
imported into Pennsylvania ? 

5. What are exported ? 

6. Where is our foreign commerce 
carried on ? State its amount in 1845. 

7. Which are greater, the imports 
or exports ? 



8. What are the articles of do- 
mestic commerce ? 

9. Where is it carried on ? 

10. Which are greater, the im- 
ports or exports ? 

11. What does the internal com- 
merce embrace? 



COMMERCE. 65 



mills, iron-works, factories, mines, quarries, taverns, Sj'c, 
in every part of it. 

12. The internal is vastly larger than either the foreign 
or domestic commerce; but it is iraposbible to estimate its 
exact amount. 

13. All commerce is effected either by barter or sale. 
Barter, sometimes called "trade," in this state, consists 
in giving or exchanging one article for another. It pre- 
vails to some extent in our internal commerce. 

14. Sale is the giving of money, called a price, for the 
arlicle acquired. 

15. Money is either specie or paper money. 

16. Specie is coin composed of silver or gold ; and in 
the United States is only coined and issued by the national 
government. 

17. Paper money, or hank notes, are promises on paper 
issued by the banks, to pay in specie the sum stated on 
the face of the note, whenever demanded at the proper 
bank. 

18. In 1845, there were 45 banks in Pennsylvania with 
$10,107,188 18 of notes in circulation. They were then 
generally able to pay specie for their notes. 

19. The distinction between cash and credit forms a most im- 
portant consideration in commerce. 

20. Cash is the payment of money for the articles boug-ht at the 
time of purchase. It is the safest, cheapest, most economical, and 
peaceful mode. 

21. II is safe, because by buying- no more than is paid for, all 
risk is avoided of being annoyed or put to cost and trouble, on ac- 
count of debts which the purchaser may not have the money to 
meet, when they are demanded. 

22. It is cheap, because when cash is paid for any article, it is 
obtained for a less price than when it is bought on trust or credit. 
In the latter case, the seller always adds to the price so much as 
he thinks the risk of never being paid, the loss of the use of his 
money till he is paid, and the expense of collecting it, are worth ; 
which he is perfectly justifiable in doing. 



12. Is it larger than the foreign or 
domesiic ? 

13. What is barter? 

14. What is sale ? 

15. How many kinds of money 
are there ? 

16. What is specie ? 

17. What is paper money ? 

6 



18. How much paper money was 
there in circulation in 1845? 

19. JVhat is an iniporlant dislinc- 
tioji in conimerce? 

20. Wtiat is cash ? 

21. Why is it a safe mode of deal' 
iiig 1 

22. Why cheap t 
* 



66 



STATE-BOOK 01* PENNSYLVANIA. 



23. It is economical., because if only such things are boug-ht as the 
cash can be paid for, the purchasing of unnecessary articles will fre- 
quently be prevented, and the ready money on hand will be saved for 
those that are indispensable. This rule also often prevents a waste 
of necessary articles, on account of the difficulty of obtaining ready 
money to purchase a new supply. 

21. // is peaceful., because very many of the disputes and lawsuits 
that take place are caused by misunderstandings about debts for 
articles bought on trust, which would all be avoided if the cash 
had been paid. 

25. Still, credit is not to be altogether condemned. Within pro- 
per limits, it is one of the most useful and beneficial agents in com- 
merce. It is only the abuse of it that is injurious. 

26. Credit is that trust which one person reposes in another when 
he lends him money or sells him property, on the faith of his pro- 
mise, that he will return the one, or pay for the other at the time 
agreed on. 

27. Interest is an inseparable incident of credit, and is that sum 
which the borrower of money, or purchaser of goods on credit, pa3's 
for the use of the money or price, while he detains it from the 
owner. 

28. Civilized nations always fix by law the rate of interest that 
may be charged. In this state it is six per cent.., which means that 
no more shall be charged for the use of money than at the rate of 
six dollars for the use of one hundred dollars during one year. 
This is called legal ijiterest. 

29. When more than six per cent, is attempted to be charged, it 
is called usury., or illegal interest, the receiving of which is severely 
punishable by law. 

30. No dealings on credit are either safe or justifiable, unless 
the debtor or person who borrows or buys on credit is at the time 
reasonably certain, that he will be able to keep his contract or pro- 
mise with his creditor., or person who sells or lends. 

31. Wlien he is thus certain, such dealings are safe, beneficial, 
and ought to be promoted. They form the only means of enabling 
integrity, punctuality, and skill to take tiie place of money, and of 
realizing for their possessor the actual value of a good character. 

32. Banks., when sound and well-managed, are important agents 
in sustaining credit. Their objects are two-fold : 1. To add to the 
money or circulating medium of a country, by increasing its quan- 
tity ; it being found that the whole amount of specie in any com- 
mercial country, is generally less than the whole amount of the 
value of the articles offered for sale, and is therefore inadequate to 



23. Wtiy economical ? 

24. Wliy peaceful 1 

25. Wtien is credit useful ? 

26. What is credit ? 

27. What is interest ? 

28. What is legal interest in Fa. ? 



29. What is usury ? 

30. When is credit safe ? 

31. What does credit then really 
represent ? 

32. What are the objects of 
batiks ? 



COMMb:RCE. 



67 



the wants of the community. 2. To afford to persons in want of 
short Inans^ or accommodations of money, the means of ohtaining 
them, on the stienotii of their credit for honesty and solvency. 

:i3. Whih^ these? ohjects are strictly and faithfully adhered to, 
banks are safe and useful. But when they issue more notes than 
they can instantly redeem in specie, without loss to the holders, 
they are danjxerous to the comnmnity,and hijrhly injurious to com- 
merce. So, also, when thej^ lend out their money in large sums, 
'or a lonnr time, to few persons, they cripple their own means, and 
.niiict a oreat injury on commerce. By so doing, they deprive the 
smaller dealers of those short accommodations which are so neces- 
sary to them, and to atford which, banks, with discouniing or lend- 
ing privileges, were chiefly established. 

31. It has been stated that the foreign im])orts of Pennsylvania 
are greater than her exports. This is true when all the articles 
brought from foreign countries are compared with those soif thither. 
But it is not believed to be the case, when the foreign articles ac- 
tually used in this state Bie contrasted with those of her own pro- 
duction actually exported. 

35. It must be recollected that a very large part of our foreign 
imports are sold to the western and south-western states. If these 
be deducted from the gross amount, it is probable that the im- 
ports for our own use do not much exceed our exports. 

36. At the present time, our foreign commerce is not so direct as 
it used to be. In former days, Philadelphia imported by her own 
merchants, and in her own ships, all the articles she needed from 
foreign nations. This is no longer the case. She now buys large 
quantities of foreign merchandise from the importing merchants of 
New York and Boston. 

37. The vehicles of foreign commerce are ships and ocean steamers. 
Of the latter, Philadelphia yet possesses none. 

38. In 1845, 420 vessels from foreign countries entered the port 
of Philadelphia, carrying about 91,313 tons. 

39. About 10,000 vessels of all sizes arrived the same year from 
all parts, foreign and domestic ; the chief part of which were en- 
gaged in the coal trade. 



33. When are they safe and use- 
ful ? when injurious and unsafe ? 

34. Are our foreign imports really 
greater than our exports ? 

:^n. Why not ? 

36. Is the foreign trade of Phila- 
delphia as direct as formerly ? 



37. What are the vehicles of fo- 
reign trade ? 

38. How many foreign vessels en- 
tered Philadelphia in 1845 ? 

39. How many vessels arrived the 
same year from all ports ? 



68 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 




Reading Railroad, and Bridge across the Schuylkill. 



XIX. PUELIC IMPKOVEMENTS. 

1. The public improvements of Pennsylvania, consist 
of canals^ railroads^ turnpikes^ and bridges ; of all which 
she contains more than any other state in the Union. 

2. Of completed canals, the state owns 715 miles, and 
of completed railroads, 118 miles. 

3. There are also 380 miles of completed canals owned 
by companies, and 700 miles of railroad. 

4. There are 2000 miles of stoned or gravelled turn- 
pike in the state, all owned by companies. 

5. There are at least 30 bridges across the main streams 
of the state, varying from one-fourth to one and a quarter 
mile in length, with numerous smaller structures of the 
same kind. 

6. The whole cost of all the canals, railroads, turn- 



1. How many kinds of public im- 
provements in Pennsylvania ? 

2. What is the length of the 
completed state canals? also rail- 
roads ? 



3. Company canals? railroads? 

4. Turnpikes ? 

5. How many bridges? 

6. What is the estimated cost of 
all the public improvements ? 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 



69 



pikes, and bridges, in Pennsylvania, has been estimated at 
$80,000,000. 

7. The great objects of the internal improvements of 
Pennsylvania are to convey to market the surplus produc- 
tions of the interior of the state, and to form a connection 
between the Ohio river and Lake Erie in the west, and 
the river Delaw^are at Philadelphia in the east. 

8. The following- is a list of the chief works of public improve- 
ment in Pennsylvania : 

The Main Line of state canal and railway, from Philadelphia to 
Pittsburg, 396 miles. 

9. The Susquehanna canal, from the Main Line at the mouth of the 
Juniata, up the Susquehanna and North Branch, to Lackawanna 
in Luzerne, 11'2 miles. 

10. The TFest Branch canal, from the Susquehanna canal at 
Northumberland, to Farrandsville in Clinton, 75 miles. 

11. The Delaware canal, from the head of navi^tion on the 
Delaware at Bristol, to Easton on the same river, GO miles. 

12. The French creek canal, from Franklin on the Alleg-heny, to 
Conneaut lake in Crawford, where it joins the Erie canal, 55 miles. 

13. The Erie canal, from the town of Beaver on the Ohio, to the 
harbour of Erie, 136 miles. 

14. The state has also a number of canals and railroads, in an 
unfinished condition. 

The chief company canals, are : 

15. The Schuylkill Navigation, from Philadelphia to Port Carbon 
in Schuylkill, 108 miles. 

16. The Union canal, from the Schuylkill Navigation at Reading-, 
to Middlotown on the Susquehanna, where it joins the state Main 
Line, with an extension to Pinegrove in Schuylkill county, 82 miles. 

17. The Lehiu^h Isavigation and railway, trom Easton on tlui 
Delaware, to Wilkesbarre in Luzerne, 105 miles. 

18. The Susquehanna and Tide Water canal, from the state Main 
Line at Columbia in Lancaster, to the Maryland line, 30 miles, 
and thence to Havre-de-grace on the Chesapeake, 15 miles farther. 

19. In addition to these, there are many company canals of lesser 
importance. 



7. What is their object ? 

8. What points docs the Main Line 
conufct, and v^hat is its length ? 

'J. The Snsquelianna canal ? 

10. The West Branch canal? 

11. T/ie Delaware canal ? 

12. T/ie French creek canal ? 

13. The Erie canal? 

14. Has the stale any unfinished 
canals and railroads ? 



15. Describe the Schmjlkill Navi- 
gation. 

16. The Union canal f. 

17. The Lehigh Navigation and 
railway. 

18. The Susqitehanna and Tide- 
water canal. 

19. Arc there other company ca- 
nals f. 



70 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



The chief cGmpany railroads are : 

20. The Reading railroad, from Philadelphia to Pottsville in 
Schuylkill, 104 miles. 

21. The Philadelphia and Wilmington railroad, leading towards 
Baltimore, 27 miles. 

22. The Philadelphia and Norrisiown railroad, 17 miles. 

23. The Philadelphia and Trenton railroad, towards New York, 
28 miles. 

24. The Lancaster, Harrishurg, Carlisle, and Chambersburg rail- 
road, leading- through those places to the Maryland line, 88 miles. 

25. The Columbia, York, and Maryland line railroad, towards 
Baltimore, 31 miles. 

26. The Carbondale and Honesdale railroad, in Luzerne and 
Wayne, 16^ miles. 

27. The Little Schuylkill railroad, in Schuylkill, 23 miles, with 
very many others in different parts of the state. 

The principal turnpikes are : 

28. The Suuihern turnpike, leading from Philadelphia, through 
Lancaster, York, Gettysburg, Chambersburg, Bedford, eind Greens- 
burg, to Pittsburg; with a branch from Bedford, through Somer- 
set, to Uniontown in Fayette, where it intersects the great National 
Road leading through Washington, Penna., to the Ohio river at 
W^heeling. 

29. The Northern turnpike, from Philadelphia, through Reading, 
Lebanon, Harrisburg, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Ebensburg, and 
Blairsville, to Pittsburg. 

30. The North- Wester 71 turnpike, from Lewistown, through Belle- 
fonte, Philipsburg, Brookville, Clarion, Franklin, and Mcadville, 
to Erie. 

31. A turnpike from Harrisburg, through Carlisle, to Chambers- 
burg. 

32. Another from Philadelphia, northwardly through E.^ston to 
Wilkesbarre, and also to the Great Bend in Susquehanna county\ 

33. With many others, connecting together the prominent towns 
and business points of the state. 

34. The chief bridges are : scvc7i across the Schuylkill at Phila- 
delphia ; ten across the upper portions of the Delaware ; ten across 



20. Describe ttie Reading railroad. 

21. The PJiiladelptiia and Wil- 
mington railroad. 

22. The Philadelphia and Norris- 
tovm railroad. 

23. Tjie Philadelphia and Trenton 
railroad. 

24. Ttie Lancaster and Chambers- 
burg railroad. 

25. Tjie Columbia and Maryland 
line railroad. 

26. Ttie Carbondale and Hones- 
dale railroad. 



27. The Little SchuyMll rail- 
road. 

28. Describe ttie Southern turn- 
pile. 

29. The Northern. 

30. The North-western. 

31. The Harrisburg and Cham- 
bersburg. 

32. Tlie one that runs northwardly 
from Philadelphia. 

33. Are there others ? 

34. Which are the cliief bridges ? 



TO\\"NS. 



71 



the Susquehanna, and its north and west branches ; and /our across 
the AUeorheny and Monongahela at Pittsburg. 

35. The bridore over the Susquehanna at Columbia is one and a 
quarter mile long, and is the longest in tlie state. 



XX. TOWNS. 

1. There are three kinds of towns in Pennsylvania, viz., 
Cities^ Boroughs, and Villages. 

2. A City is a large incorporated town, governed by a 
mayor, recorder, and councils ; having a Mayor's Court 
for the punishment of the smaller crimes, and aldermen 
who act as justices of the peace. 

3. A Borough is an incorporated town, generally smaller 
than a ciiy, governed by a burgess and town council, but 
having no court or aldermen. 

4. A Village is a town not incorporated, and in most 
cases smaller than a borough, with no separate govern- 
ment, but included in that of the township in which it is 
situated. 

5. There d^xefour cities in this state : Philadelphia^ Pitts- 
burg, Allegheny, and Lancaster. 

6. There are 191 boroughs, with an average population 
of 600. The chief are, Reading, Harrishurg, Easton, York, 
Germantown, Carlisle, Pottsville, Chamber shurg, Erie, JVor- 
ristowii, HolUdaysburg, Carbondale, Allentown, West Chester^ 
Washington, Lewistown, Columbia, Gettysburg, Lebanon, 
Uniontown, Wilkesbarre, Johnstown, Williamsport, Mead- 
ville, Bristol, ^x. 

7. There are at least 375 villages, with an average 
population of 250 in each. Many of them have a larger 
number of inhabitants than some of the older boroughs, 
and are increasing with great rapidity. 

8. In some of the older countries of the vv^orld there is another 
class of towns, called fort ?Jied, or walled towns. We have none 
such, because our republican institutions neither require nor permit 
the government to occupy fortresses by means of a standing army, 
for the purpose of keeping the people in subjection. Nor is there 



35. Which is the longest i?i Fa.l 

1. How many kinds of towns are 
there in Pennsylvania? 

2. What is a city ? 

3. A borough ? 

4. A village ? 



5. Name the cities. 

6. How many boroughs ? Name 
the principal. 

7. How many villages, with what 
average population ? 

8. Have we walled towns ? whyl 



72 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



such danger of foreign invasion as to render them necessary as a 
means of defence. 

9. There are, in other parts of the Union, especially along- the 
sea-coast and on the frontiers, a few fortified posts and forts, for 
the protection of those places. But in Pennsylvania, there are none 
even of these now occupied. Nor are there in any part of the 
Union any large walled or fortified towns, in which the military is 
superior to the civil power; such places being unnecessary in a 
country where the people not only govern but defend themselves. 

10. The appearance of the cities and towns of Pennsylvania is 
different from that of most other countries. They are chiefly laid 
out according to the plan adopted b}^ William Penn wlien he 
founded Philadelphia; that is, the streets are all broad, perfectly 
straight, and cross each other at right angles, and at uniform 
distances. 

11. The materials used in building are brick, stone, and wood. 
The prevalence of the two former gives our towns a more substan- 
tial appearance than those of some other states; but the want of 
paint or whitewash causes many of them to have a less pleasant 
appearance. 

12. In building the older county-towns, the practice prevailed of 
placing the court-house in the centre of a public square or street, in 
the middle of the town. This inconvenient arrangement has been 
avoided in the location of the court-houses recently constructed. 

13. The practice of planting shade trees along the side of the 
streets prevails in most of the towns of this and the other states. 
In addition to the pleasant coolness afforded by these trees in sum- 
mer, they promote the health of the inhabitants by their purifying 
effect on the air. It is said that the leaves of trees absorb or attract 
from the atmosphere during the night certain gases, which are inju- 
rious to human health, but necessary to the growth of the trees, and 
emit during the day others that are beneficial to man. 

14. This may be called the breathing process of the trees, and 
closely resembles that of animated beings. The air, when drawn 
into the lungs of the latter, is fit and necessary for their support in 
health ; but when thrown or breathed out, has lost its life-support- 
ing principle, and become injurious to them. In the same manner, 
the leaves, which are the lungs of the trees, absorb the air neces- 
sary for their support, chiefly at night, and emit it during the day, 
after it has been deprived of the qualities necessary for the growtii 
of the trees. 

15. This is but another of the numberless instances of the per- 
fect wisdom and beautiful harmony of the works of Providence. 



9. Are there forts in other parts of 
the Unio7i ? tvhy ? 

10. What is the general pla?i of the 
tovms 171 Pennsylvania ? 

11. What are their materials and 
appearance ? 



12. What practice prevailed in 
huilding the older county-towns. 

13. What is said of shade trees 1 

14. Hoio is this effected ? 

15. What is it a proof of ? 



COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 73 



That which might be injurious to one portion is found to be bene- 
ficial and necessary to another, and thus all are indeed good. 

[A more minute description of the principal towns of the state 
will be found under the head of their respective counties.] 



XXI. COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 

1. A COUNTY is a portion of a state, separated from the 
rest for certain purposes of local government. Counties 
are formed by the state legislature. 

2. All the public ad'airs of the county are transacted at 
the county town, or seat of justice, where the courts are 
held, and the public offices and prison are placed. 

3. There are 59 counties in Pennsylvania, viz.,. ^c?«wi.9, 
Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, 
Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Ches- 
ter, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, 
Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, 
Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, 
Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, 
Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, JYorthampton, 
JSTortkumberland; Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuyl- 
kill, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, War- 
ren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and 
York. 

4. A Township is a portion of a county set apart for the 
performance of such acts of local government as do not 
relate to the w^hole county, but only to the people of the 
township, such as the repair of roads, &c. Townships are 
formed by the Court of Quarter Sessions of the proper 
county. 

5. Townships are generally also election districts, which 
means that the citizens meet at one place in the district 
or township, to vote for their representatives and other 
olBcers. 

6. Townships are also common school districts, for the 
election of directors, and the establishment of free schools. 



1. What is a county ? 

2. What is a county-town? 

3. How many counties in the 
state? Name them. 



4. What is a township ? 

5. How connected with elections ? 

6. With common schools ? 



74 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



7. There are 1110 townships in the state, being about an 
average of 19 in each county, though some counties have 
less and some more than this number. 

[The different counties will be described in detail, and their 
townships designated, in the following part of this Book.] 



XXII. NATURAL DIVISIONS. 

1. There is a marked difference in form of sur/acCy 
quality of soil, and nature of productions, between various 
portions of Pennsylvania. This is so obvious and strongly 
marked, that the state naturally divides itself into seven 
CLASSES or groups of counties: 

2. I. The South-eastern counties, consisting of that 
portion of the state which lies on the south-east of the 
South mountain. 

3. Eight counties form this class, viz. : Philadelphia, 
Delaware, Chester, Bucks, Montgomery, Lancaster, York, 
and Adams. 

4. Their distinctive features are: 1. A surface free 
from great elevations ; 2. A soil generally capable of pro- 
ductive cultivation ; and 3. Great fruitfulness of grain. 

5. II. The Cumberland Valley counties, occupying 
that great limestone valley, which stretches from the Dela- 
ware to the Maryland line, between the Kittatinny and 
South mountains. 

6. The chief parts of seven counties constitute this 
class ; viz. : JVorthampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, part of 
Dauphin, Cumberland, and Franklin. 

7. Their peculiar characteristics are: 1. Great even- 
ness of surface, except where they extend up the moun- 
tains on each side of the valley ; 2. Uniform fertility of 
soil in the valley ; 3. Abundance of all agricultural pro- 
ductions, and of limestone. 



7. How many townships in Pa. ? 

1. Into how many classes of coun- 
ties is the state naturally divided? 

2. Which is the first class, and 
where situated ? 

3. What counties compose it ? 



4. What are its features ? 

5. Which is the second, and where 
situated ? 

6. Name the counties. 

7. Describe its peculiarities. 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 



75 



8. III. The Anthracite Mountain counties, embrac- 
ing that part of the state which hes between the main 
Susquehanna and the waters of the Lehigh, on the north 
of Cumberhmd valley. 

9. Inchiding Dau])hin, tiiere are seven counties in this 
class ; viz. : part of Dauphin^ Schuylkill^ Carbon^ Monroe^ 
A'^orthumherlandj Luzerne^ and Wyoming. 

10. Their peculiarities are: 1. Great ruggedness of 
surface ; 2. General scarcity of limestone ; 3. Abundance 
of anthracite coal, which is found in no other part of the 
state. 

11. IV. The Iron Mountain counties, occupying the 
central portion of the state, between the main Susquehanna 
on the east, and the great Allegheny ridge on the west, 
and extending from the Maryland line to the northern tier 
of counties. 

12. Ten counties compose this class ; viz. : Perry y 
Juniata, Mifflin, Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon, Centre, 
Union, Columbia, and Lycoming. 

13. Their distinguishing qualities are: 1. Great un- 
evenness of surface ; 2. JVumerous fertile liw,estone valleys 
and river flats ; 3. And general abundance of iron ore, of 
a superior quality. 

14. V. The Bituminous Mountain counties, extend- 
ing from the top of the main Allegheny to its western 
termination, and from the Maryland line to the northern 
tier of counties. 

15. There are five counties in this class; viz. : Somer- 
set, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, and Elk. 

16. Their characteristics are: 1. A 5wr/ffce very much 
elevated and broken ; 2. A soil of only moderate fertility, 
consisting of high table-lands and "glades;" 3. Abund- 
ance of bituminous coal. 

17. VI. The Western counties, embracing all those 



8. Which is the third, and where 
situated ? 

9. Wiiat counties are embraced 
in ii ? 

10. State the peculiar features. 

11. Which is the fourth class, and 
where situated ? 

2. Ts^anie its counties. 



13. Describe their distinguishing 
qualities. 

14. Which is the (ifih, and where 
situated ? 

15. What counties form it? 

16. Describe its characteristics. 

17. Which is the sixth class, and 
where is it situated ? 



76 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



west of the mountains, except the counties along the New 
York line. 

18. Fourteen counties compose this class ; viz. : Fay- 
ette, Greene y Washington^ Westmoreland, Allegheny , Indiana, 
Armstrong, Jefferson, Clanon, Venango, Butler, Beaver, 
Mercer, and Craioford. 

19. Their peculiar features are: 1. JYumerous irregular 
hills, with deep ravines and water-courses between ; 2. A 
generally fertile soil; 3. Abundance of bituminous coal, 
with iron-ore, limestone, and salt. 

20. VII. The Northern Line counties, consisting of 
those that form the northern and eastern boundary of the 
state, from Erie to Pike. 

21. Nine counties constitute this class; viz.: Pike, 
Wayne, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, McKean, 
Warren and Erie. 

22. Their distinctive features are : 1. A surface uneven 
and hilly, but not often attaining the height or regularity 
of mountains ; 2. A soil well adapted for pasture, but ge- 
nerally too cold and thin for wheat and corn ; 3. Great 
abundance of lumber, with few valuable minerals. 

FIRST CLASS. 

1. In geological ckaractei; a portion of this class, viz., the whole 
of Delaware and Philadelphia, and the southern parts of Bucks, 
Montgomery, Chester, Lancaster, and York, belong to the primary 
formation of rocks, consisting of gneiss, mica-slate, and their varie- 
ties, with granite at the extreme south. 

2. The remainder belongs to the middle-secondary or transition 
order, and presents the red-sandstone formation, with soft red and 
brown shales, bands of conglomerate, several ridges of trap, and oc- 
casional large tracts of limestone. 

3. The soil consequently exhibits the qualities of all these varie- 
ties of rock, varying from the most fertile to nearly barren. Little, 
however, occurs so barren as to be wholly irreclaimable. 

4. Nearly all the tracts that used to be considered comparatively 
valueless, for the purposes of tillage, are now in the process of 



18. What counties constitute it ? 

19. State their peculiar features. 

20. Which is the seventh class, 
and where situated ? 

21. What counties belong to it ? 

22. How are they distinguished ? 
1. What is the geological character 



of the soutJiern portion of the first 
class 1 

2. Of the remainder ? 

3. What is the general nature of 
the soil ? 

4. Hns any improvement been ef- 
fected? How? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 77 



fertilization, by means of lime and other mineral manures, and by 
the use of clover. When thus reclaiuied, they are found to be the 
most certain grain lands in the state, and to produce heavier wheat 
than the limestone farms. 

5. These counties are wholly destitute of coal mines, but have 
numerous veins of iron-ore of various qualities. 

6. The agricultural productions embrace all the varieties of grain, 
meat, fowl, and fruit, common to a rich farming region, and a tem- 
perate climate. 

7. It is a remarkable fact, that the rich limestone lands of the 
south-eastern and Cumberland Valley counties, were not the first 
that were selected for improvement by the earliest settlers. When 
first visited by Europeans, they were found nearly destitute of tim- 
ber, and were then, as now, not so well watered as the slate and 
shale lands in their vicinity. In parts of the Valley, some lime- 
stone lands which are now worth from 50 to 100 dollars an acre, 
lay unimproved for many years, and were actually called "dry 
barrens." 

8. It was the Germans who first discovered the superior qualities 
of these tracts, and occupied them fully. Before they settled, how- 
ever, considerable improvements had been effected by the Scotch- 
Irish, but were chiefly confined to the banks of the larger streams. 

9. The absence of timber was owing to the Indian practice of 
burning the dry leaves and grass every spring, upon these favourite 
hunting-grounds. This burning promoted an earlier springing of 
grass for the support of the deer and other game, and prevented the 
growth of trees, by which the hunters' view might be obstructed. 

10. The consequence is, that though many of these tracts have 
become heavily timbered since this practice ceased, yet few trees 
are now found over 150 years old. This may easily be ascertained 
by counting the rings or annual growths upon the stumps of the 
largest trees that have been felled. 

11. The south-eastern is the most densely peopled part of the 
state ; and contains many towms, with numerous mills, furnaces, 
factories, turnpikes, bridges, canals, and railways, and a great num- 
ber of churches and school-houses. The private edifices, especially 
the barns, are large, commodious, and substantial. 



12. The Flour business of Pennsylvania is of great magnitude, 
especially in the first, second, and sixth classes of counties. Like 
most other prominent branches of industry, it has vastly increased 
in extent and fiicilities within a few years. 



5. h coal found 1 Is iron ? 

6. What are the agricultural pro- 
ductions ? 

7. IVhat is said of the limestone 
lands when first visited by Euro- 
peans ? 

8. Who first fully occupied them ? 

7 



9. Ti^;^ loere they bare of timber f 

10. TP fiat is the general age of the 
largest trees 1 

1 1 . How is this class peopled and 
improved ? 

12. In which classes is the flour 
busuicss greatest ? 



78 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



13. During- the earlier times of the colony and state, mills were 
much fewer in number than now. It was not uncommon for the 
pioneer settlers to carry their bag of wheat on horseback, ten or 
twenty miles to the nearest mill, along bridle-paths through the 
woods. 

14. In those days, too, and long afterwards, a mill was a very 
rude and simple machine. A clumsy water-wheel with the interme- 
diate cog-wheels put the mill-stones in notion. A hopper contained 
the wheat and fed it to the stones ; and a rough bolting cloth sepa- 
rated the flour from the bran. All the rest was performed by 
human labour. 

15. Now a complete merchant mill, such as are seen almost 
within sight of each other, on every stream in the wheat counties, 
is one of the most perfect labour-saving machines which man has 
contrived. 

16. The grain is taken from the wagons at the mill door, and 
hoisted to the third, fourth or fifth story of the building, according 
to its size, by means of a rope and pully, worked by the mill-wheel. 
Even then the miller has not the labour of carrying it to the proper 
garner, but is provided with a small wagon or truck for the purpose. 

17. Before being ground, the grain is screened and put through a 
smut machine, by which it is cleansed of all impurtiies, and thence 
fairness and sweetness of the flour increased. 

18. It is then conveyed through tubes to the hopper, over the 
stones or grinders, after passing through which the ground grain is 
raised by means of elevators, to the hopper-boy, by which it is com- 
pletely cooled before passing to the bolt, which separates the Jlour 
from the middlini^s, ship-stuff, shorts, and bran. 

19. Even yet, it is not out of the power of machinery, the miller 
being provided with a press wrought by the water-wheel, by which 
the flour is packed in the barrel, and weighed at the same time. 

20. In a barrel there are 196 pounds of flour, which is the pro- 
duce of from four to five bushels of wheat. 

21. In 1845, there were about 12,000,000 bushels of wheat raised 
in Pennsylvania. Of these, about 5,000,000 were converted into 
1,000,000 barrels of flour and sent to market. 

22. Not less than 1,000,000 bushels of the balance was re- 
quired for seed, so that about 6,000,000 bushels were consumed 
in the state. 



13. Were mills numerous in early 
times ? 

14. Describe an old fashio7ied mill ? 

15. What is a flour -mill now ? 

16. How is the grain taken into 
the mill ? 

17. What is done before grinding ? 

18. How is it ground, elevated, 
cooled, and separated 1 



19. How is it packed 1 

20. How many pounds of flour 
are there in a barrel, and how many 
bushels of wheat make a barrel of 
flour "i 

21. How many bushels were raised 
in 1845 ? How much flour sold ? 

22. How much was sown, and how 
much consumed in the state ? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 



79 



SECOND CLASS. 

1. Cumberland Valley extends from the Delaware in Northamp- 
ton county, to the Maryland line in Franklin, a length in Pennsyl- 
vania of ahout 160 miles, with a breadth of about 12 miles. South 
of Pennsylvania, it passes through the states of Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, and North Carolina, to Georgia. 

"2. In this state, it presents the appearance of a rich, broad, gently 
rolling plain, with a high regular mountain barrier on the north, 
and a chain of broken hills to the south. 

3. The geological features of this beautiful region are very uni- 
form. The large middle portion is entirely limestone. Along the 
base of the mountain on the north, slate is generally found, often 
extending some distance up the mountain side. Above this is the 
barren silicious sandstone of the Kittatinny, which forms the base 
of the mountain range of counties. On the south edge of the val- 
ley, the succession of irregular hills, forming the South mountain, 
is composed of rocks of the primary class, covered, however, to- 
wards its western extremity, by the hard silicious sandstone of the 
secondary formation. 

4. In the north-west spurs of the South mountain are found some 
of the most valuable iron ores of the state ; and hence numerous 
iron works are seen along the southern border of the valley. 

5. The limestone portion of Cumberland Valley is noted as being 
a most fruitful agricultural district. In this respect, its only de- 
fects are a failure of the springs of water during the latter part of 
summer and fall, and the frequent and irregular manner in which 
the limestone rocks are protruded through the soil, forming what 
farmers call "broken land." Large portions of the valley are, 
however, free from both these objections. 

6. The slate lands along the mountains form a light, thin soil, 
but tolerably fertile when improved. They are better watered than 
the limestone tracts. 

7. The buildings and other improvements are nearly equal to 
those of the south-eastern class of counties, and the population 
almost as dense. The climate is the same. 



8. The most valuable mineral of this beautiful valley is its lime- 
stone. 

9. Fifty years ago, Lime was only used in building; and as 



1. What is tJie extent of Cumber- 
land Valley ? 

2. What is its appearance in this 
state ? 

3. Wfiat is its geological cha- 
racter! 

4. What is found in the spurs of 
the South mountain 1 



5. What is said of the valley as 
an agricultural district ? 

6. Of the slate land? 

7. What of the improvements, po- 
pulation, and climate ? 

8. Which is the 7fiost valuable mi- 
neral in Cumberland Valley ? 

9. What about lime f fly years ago ? 



80 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



comparatively little was needed, no pains were taken to discover 
the cheapest and most expeditious mode of making it. 

10. But when it was found that some lands were, by a long' suc- 
cession of crops, worn out, or exhausted of the rich vegetable mat- 
ter that had been accumulating- upon their surface for centuries, it 
became necessary to apply some new substance to restore fertility. 
Animal or barn-yard manure was well known to have this effect, 
but could not be obtained in sufficient quantities. 

11. It was perceived that Ibnesione soils, which mean soils rest- 
ing on limestone rock, did not wear out like others. Hence it was 
concluded, even before any correct scientific investigation had ren- 
dered the fact certain, that this desirable quality must be owing to 
the limestone ; and that the application of lime, as a manure, would 
restore productiveness. The experiment was soon tried, and the 
success was perfect. 

12. Since this new and most beneficial use of it was discovered, 
the demand for lime has very largely increased, and every means 
have been taken to facilitate and cheapen its production. The con- 
sequence is, that the cost is now not more than one-fourth of what 
it was when only used for the purposes of architecture. 

13. The chief good that has followed this use of lime, is the very 
great increase effected in the agricultural productions of the country. 
The crops of poor worn-out lands, to which it has been judiciously 
applied, have increased at least four-fold ; and many impoverished 
and almost deserted regions now bear the smiling appearance of 
prosperity and happiness. 

14. In former years, the process of lime-burning was tedious, la- 
borious, and expensive. A rude, ill-shaped kiln was built. It was 
then filled with limestone, and the necessary heat obtained by keep- 
ing up a continued wood-fire in the eye or furnace of the kiln, till 
the contents were converted into lime. This occupied about three 
days, and was very laborious, the workmen being compelled to 
attend the fire night and day. The quantity of wood required for a 
kiln of 500 bushels was about ten cords. 

15. At present, the fuel mostly used is stone-coal, and the whole 
process is much easier and cheaper. 

16. Most persons still burn lime in kilns nearly similar in shape 
to the wood kilns. The limestone and coal are placed in alternate 
layers till the kiln is full. Fire is then applied from below, and 
no further attention is needed, for, by the time that the coal is con- 
sumed, the lime is burned. This usually takes place in three 
days. 

17. Some extensive lime-burners use whatarecalled joerjse/wa/, or 



10. What became necessary when 
lands were worn-out ? 

11. What was remarked in liine- 
stone soils ? and the result of it ? 

12. What is the effect on the cost 
of lime ? 



13. What is the effect on the pro- 
ductions of the county ? 

14. Describe the old process of 
making lime. 

15. What fuel is now used ? 

16. Describe the present mode. 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 



81 



draw kilns. These are deeper and narrower than the common kind, 
but are filled in the same manner with alternate layers of limeston** 
and coal. When the coal in the lower part of the kiln is consumed, 
and the lime consequently burned, it is drawn out from below. 
The contents of the upper portion sink as this is done without ex- 
tinguishing the fire ; more layers of stone and coal are then thrown 
in till it is again full ; and in this way the kiln is at the same time 
receiving stone and coal at the top, burning in the middle, anfl 
emitting lime below. Lime may be drawn from one of these kilns 
two or three times in the twenty-four hours, to the amount of from 
IQO to 500 bushels a day, according to its size. 

18. Burning lime in s/a^/fcs is still another mode. This differs from 
the other processes merely in dispensing with a permanent kiln. 
The limestone and coal in alternate layers are piled up in the form 
of a stack on the ground, with openings or flues beneath to apply 
the fire, and admit a draught of air. The outside of the stack is 
then covered or daubed over with stiff clay, to serve instead of the 
walls of a kiln and keep in the heat. Fire is then applied at the 
bottom, and in a few days the coal is burned out and the lime formed. 

19. Owing to these processes and the use of coal, lime is now 
sold for from 5 to 12 cents a bushel, according to the price of coal 
and the convenience of limestone. 

20. One ton of coal will make from 75 to 150 bushels of lime — 
some stones being more easily converted into lime than others. 

21. There is great difference in lime for agricultural purposes ; 
or rather the foreign substances found mixed in most limestone 
produce very different effects upon vegetation. Pure lime, which 
very rarely occurs, is always uniform in its qualities. 

22. The chief of these foreign ingredients are silicious, or flinty 
matter, iron, and magnesia. The two former do not injure, but pro- 
bably improve the effects of lime as a manure. The last is gene- 
rally injurious, though in some few cases of rich soils it has a good 
effect. 

23. Magnesian lime is said to be injurious, because it remains 
caustic or unslacked in the ground longer than any other ; it being 
well established, that quick or unslacked lime is generally hurtful 
to plants, while slacked lime is nearly always beneficial. 

24. When limestone does not freely effervesce, or produce bub- 
bles, in acid, is so hard as to scratch glass, and is of any shade of 
colour, from clear blue to pure white, it contains silicious or flinty 
matter. When it is of a deep yellow, brown or red colour, iron is 
contained. And when it is of a light brown or pale yellow, not 



17. Describe the perpetual kiln. 

18. Describe the slack mode. 

19. What is the price of lime now ? 

20. How many bushels will a ton 
of coal burn ? 

21. What is the difference in lim^ 
caused by f 



22. What ingredients are usually 
found mixed with it ? 

23. Why is mag7iesian lime inju- 
rious ? 

24. How is the presence of silex, 
iron, and magnesia indicated ? 



82 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



sufficiently hard to mark glass, effervesces slowly, and g-ives a 
milky appearance to acid, it contains magnesia. 

25. The mode of applying lime in this state varies with the soil 
and object in view, actual experience being- the best guide. 

26. Generally it is put on sod land intended for corn. After the 
ground has been ploughed and harrowed, the slacked lime is spread 
over the surface, and the grain is then planted in the ordinary 
manner. The good effects geuerally begin to exhibit themselves 
the first year, but are not fully developed till the field is laid down 
in grass, when they are usually most obvious and satisfactory. 

27. Strong soils bear a greater quantity of lime at one dressing 
than thin or poor ones. From 50 to 100 bushels to the acre may 
safely be put on the former, while half the quantity is as much as 
the latter will receive with advantage. In all cases it is said to be 
better to apply the intended quantity at two dressings, with an in- 
terval of two or three years, than at once. 

28. In some parts of the state, the practice is becoming general 
of putting out lime on grass or clover sod, and permitting it to lie 
two or three years before ploughing. By this mode a smaller 
quantity is said to produce the desired effect, and the improvement 
\vhieh at once takes place in the grass crop is very marked and 
profitable. 

THIRD CLASS. 

1. The whole mountain region of the state, including the third, 
fourth^ and fifth classes, belongs, geologically, to the secondary 
formation. The rocks range from the lowest sandstone of the 
massive series to the crowning stratum of coal, including variously 
alternating layers of sanri stones, shales, limestones, slates, and con- 
glomerates. The last named are uniformly found underlying the 
coals, which constitute the highest of the series. 

2. The order of stratification is not uniform throughout the whole 
mountain region, but certain general features everywhere occur, 
that mark the identity of the formation. 

3. In the Anthracite counties, iron ore is very generally found in 
close vicinity with the coal, but limestone very rarely occurs in the 
same neighbourhood. 

4. The greater portion of the anthracite region being composed 
of rugged mountains, cannot, consequently, be a very productive 
agricultural district. Still it contains some fertile valleys and al- 
luvial bottoms. This is especially the case, in parts of Dauphin, 
Northumberland, and Luzerne. 



25. Wliat is the best guide for ap- 
plying time ? 

26. To what crop, and how is it 
usually applied? 

27. Do strong or poor soils bear 
most ? and how much ? 

28. What is said of putting it on 
$od? 



1. Wfiat classes does the mountain 
region contain .? Describe their ge- 
neral geological formation. 

2. Js this order of strata uniform, 1 

3. What is fotcnd near the coal in 
the anthracite counties ? 

4. What is their agricnUural cha- 
racter? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 



83 



5. The climate is not so mild as in the less elevated counties. 
Snow falls earlier, and remains long-er in winter; and in summer 
the niolus are much cooler. . 

6. This class of counties contains a lar^e number of the most 
flourishing towns in the state ; and, on the whole, forms a rapidly 
improvinij district. 

7. Monroe and Wyoming are classed with the anthracite coun- 
ties, because, though they do not contain any of that mineral, they 
possess the other features of the class, and seem to be more closely 
connected with it than any other. 



8. Anthracite is that kind of coal which is hard, shining, and 
of smooth fracture ; is composed almost entirely of pure carbun, 
is difficult to kindle, and burns without much flame or smoke. 

9. There are thi-ee basins, or fields of this kind of coal in Penn- 
sylvania : all in the eastern mountain counties ; all of a long oval 
shape; all with strata mostly dipping from the sides of the basins 
towards the centre ; and all running from north-east to south-west, 
or, in other words, following the general course of the mountains. 

10. The Southern Basin, embracing Ly kens-valley, Pine-^rove, 
Pottsville, and Mauch-Chunk, extends from Lykens-valley and 
Stony-creek, (two points in Dauphin, near the Susquehanna,) 
through Schuylkill, to Mauch-Chunk in Carbon. It is about G5 
miles in length and 5 in breadth. 

11. The Middle Basin, including Shamokin, Mahanoy, Hazelton, 
and Beaver-Meadow, runs from Shamokin in Northumberland, 
through Schuylkill and part of Luzerne, to Beaver-Meadow, in the 
north-west corner of Carbon, and is about 55 miles long and 5 broad. 

12. The Xorthern Jiasin, embracing the Wilkesharre or Wyom- 
ing, and the Lackawanna mines, extends from Shickshinny, near 
the south-west corner of Luzerne, to the vicinity of Carbondale 
near the south-east angle of Susquehanna ; being about GO miles 
long and 5 broad. 

13. The aggregate area of the three basins is nearly 1000 square 
miles, or about one-fiftieth part of the whole state. 

14. It is a singular circumstance, that not only does the anthra- 
cite coal of each of these basins differ from that of the others, but 
that the coal of each part of the same basin varies according to some 
general law of nature. Every one who uses the article is a^vare 
of the fact that the anthracite of Wyoming valley, the northern 
basin, is harder, more diflicult to ignite, and burns longer than that 
of any of the fields to the south of it; that the Dauphin county, 
generally called the Lykens-valley coal, which is the product of 



5. Describe the climate. 
•6. What is said of the towns and 
general condition of the district ? 

7. Why are Monroe and Wyoming 
emhraced in this class ? 

8. What is anthracite ? 



9. How many basins are there, and. 
what is said of them all ? 

10. Describe the southern basin. 

11. The middle. 

12. The norther ji. 

13. What is their aggregate area ? 



84 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



the southern extremity of the southern basin, is the softest, the most 
easily kindled, and the quickest burning coal of the whole anthra- 
cite class ; and that the coal of the middle basin seems to hold a 
medium rank with respect to all these qualities. It is also well 
known, so far at least as regards the southern basin, that its coal 
changes in the same manner, growing softer, burning sooner, and 
being less difficult of ignition, from east to west. In further con- 
firmation of this rule, coal has lately been discovered in the extreme 
south-west of the coal land of Dauphin county, approaching nearly 
to the qualities of the bituminous class. 

15. Some of these properties are therefore most probably owing 
to an increasing proportion of bitumen or mineral tar, towards the 
west and south. It is well known that even in the bituminous coal 
region of tlie state nearly the same difference is perceived, bitumen 
increasing in constituent proportion in the same direction. Hence 
it would seem probable, that if the extensive tract intervening be- 
tween the anthracite and the bituminous fields had not been denuded 
of its coal by some great convulsion of nature, the two kinds would 
have run into each other so gradually, that it would be impossible 
to detect the point of junction. 

lo. It seems to be another law of nature, (or rather of Providence, 
for " nature is but the name of an effect whose cause is God,") that 
coal always occupies the highest position of all the other rock 
strata. By highest is meant last in geological formation^ though 
frequently not highest in present actual position, owing to some 
great disturbances that have taken place since the formation of the 
coal. Hence it is in vain to search for coal below the laj^ers of con- 
glomerate rock, which are uniformly next to it in geological order. 

17. Anthracite coal was first discovered on- the Lehigh, within 
the present county of Carbon, in 1791, by Philip Ginter, a hunter, 
who found it adhering to the root of a tree that had been blown 
over by the wind. Its existence in Schuylkill was earlier known. 

18. In 1792, some of it was taken to Philadelphia from the 
Lehigh, and tried under the boiler of the steam-engine at Centre- 
square, but the mode of using it not being known, it put the fire 
oui. The remainder was used as gravel on the walks of the square. 

19. In 1820, the Philadelphia market was completely stocked by 
a supply of 365 tons, which sold at $8 40 per ton. 

20. In 1845, the whole quantity transported from the three basins, 
in every direction, was 2,012,742 tons, which, at $4 per ton in 
market, produced the vast sum of $8,050,968. 

21. The mining of coal is an interesting and important business. 



14. What gradual change is per- 
ceived in l/ie coal from the north-east 
to south-toesl ? 

15. What inference may be drawn 
from this ? 

16. What is the uniform geologi- 
cal position of coal ? 

17. When, where, and by whom, 



loas aiithracUe first discovered on 
the Lehigh ? 

1 8. When was it first talten to Fhi- 
ladelphia, and what was done with it ? 

19. How much stocked that market 
in 1820 ? 

20. How much was sent to market 
in 1845, and at what price was it sold ? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 85 



It gives direct employment to a great number of men ; and, as the 
whole time of the miners is occupied in the mines, they must 
depend on others to supply their provisions and clothes. This 
gives additional employment to farmers and mechanics; and thus 
mining- furnishes business to a great many more persons than are 
actually engaged in the mines. 

22. When a coal mine is about to be opened, a drift or small 
tunnel is run into the side of the mountain, till the coal vein is 
struck. The coal is then loosened by means of pick-axes and 
other implements, and conveyed to the mouth of the drift in small 
cars, on a railroad track laid in the shaft and through tin; mines. 
As the coal is removed, the upper portion or roof of the mine is 
prevented from falling by numerous props, made of large trees, 
which the miners insert as they advance. 

23. In this way, large portions of some of the mountains in the 
anthracite region are undermined and actually supported on props. 
In the beginning of 184G, owing to the enormous weight thus rest- 
ing on the props in a mine near Carbondale, they gave way, and 
about 100 acres of excavation were filled up, and fourteen of the 
miners met a miserable death. 

24. Where the vein of coal to be mined lies immediately htlow 
the level at which operations are to be commenced, a ])er])endicular 
shaft or well is dug down, till the coal is reached. The coal is 
then mined in the manner just described, but instead of being 
drawn to the mouth of the mine on a level railway, it is elevated 
from the bottom to the top of the shaft by steam power. 

25. In the various parts of the coal region, there are now several 
hundred miles of railway, under ground^ extending in every direc- 
tion through the mines ; and the flourishing town of Pottsville is 
undermined in many places. 

26. The productive coal veins are generally from 5 to 10 feet in 
thickness. In Luzerne, there are some that reach 25 feet. There, 
instead of using timber props, large columns of coal are left, at 
regular distances, for the support of the mountain ; and the mines 
are so high and open, that a stage and horses might easily enter. 
Some of the veins near Shamokin are said to be 40 feet, ^nd at 
Mauch-Chunk there is one of the immense thickness of GO feet. 



FOURTH CLASS. 

1. These counties belong to the secondary formation^ and are the 
same in geological features as those of the third class ; except that 



21. ^V}lat is the effect of coal min- 
ing upon other business ? 

22. How is coal mined out of a 
mounloin or hill ? 

23. What happened at Carbondale 
in 1846 ? 



24. How is coal mined below the 
level at which the mine is hegu?i ? 

25. What is said of railways 
under ground, and of Pottsville .? 

26. yVhat is the usual thick7icss 
of coal veins ? 



86 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



the coal-bearing strata of rocks are nearly wanting, and that those 
containing iron ore, and the limestone strata, are more fully exposed. 

2. The soil formed from the great variety of rock found in tlie 
counties of this class is equally various in quality. The northern 
part is not well adapted to the growth of wheat and Indian corn, 
except in the numerous limestone valleys and alluvial river flats. 
These are, however, among the best farming lands in the state. 

3. The population is generally more sparse, and the buildings 
and other improvements less numerous and substantial than in the 
south-eastern counties; but a marked and rapid improvement is 
recently perceptible in all these respects. 

4. The climate is similar to that of the other mountain regions. 
In the northern counties of the class, the winter is somewhat longer 
and colder, and the summer nights less warm than in those of the 
south. It is, however, a healthful district. 

5. That portion of the state lying between the anthracite and the 
bituminous mountain counties, does not generally possess the strata 
of rocks that invariably accompany the coal. Whether they were 
once there, and have been carried away by some tremendous con- 
vulsion of nature, or whether the divine Creator originally formed 
the mountains as they now are, is a question not here necessary to 
be discussed. In either case their present condition is his work. 

6. But the consequence is, that throughout this whole region, 
though the coal and the coal-bearing rocks are nearly absent, yet 
that those which come next in geological order and contain the no 
less valuable minerals iron-ore and limestone, -axe ■aX almost innu- 
merable points exposed on the surface. Hence this is emphatically 
called the iron region of the state ; and hence also it is said that 
all these counties, if not now, must hereafter become engaged in 
the iron business. 

7. For the successful prosecution of this business, no country in 
the world possesses greater facilities. The ore is of a superior de- 
scription and everywhere abundant. Wood to form charcoal is 
plenty and cheap, and if mineral coal be used, it is in great profu- 
sion on both sides of the region. The numerous fertile valleys not 
only produce food for the population engaged in the business, but 
yield limestone, which is so indispensable in refining the metal. 
In addition to all which, the streams and public works of the state 
traverse the iron counties in every direction, thus affording a certain 
and cheap conveyance to market. 

8. The iron of these counties, known in market as the "Juniata 
iron," is superior in quality to that of most others. This character 



1 . How do the counties of this class 
differ in geological features from 
those of the third ? 

2. Describe the soil. 

3. Wiait is said of population and 
improvements ? 

4. Of the climate ? 



5. What is said of the original 
formation of these counties ? 

6. What is the consequence of the 
absence of the coal ? 

7. What are the facilities for the 
iron busi7iess ? 

8. The quality of its iron ? 



NATURAL niVlSIONS. 



87 



it will probably retain. Being naturally of the best kind, and from 
necessity smelted and wrought with charcoal it must continue to be 
used for the fin(T purposes of the arts, to the exclusion of the cheaper 
and less malleable metal, rehned by means of mineral coal. 

i). On the other hand, the latter, though inferior, being cheaper 
and equally well adapted for the coarser uses, will inevitably also 
come into extensive demand. 

10. In this way both will be in requisition; and the barren moun- 
fciins of the state, yielding nothing but rough timber, and the sterile 
coal hills, will each add to her character as the chief iron state of 
the Union. 

11. After the iron ore is raised from the mine, it is roasted or heated 
in an open fire. It is then placed in the furnace with large quanti- 
ties of charcoal or stone coal (as the case ma}' 'be) to melt it, and 
limestone Xofiix or purge it of its impurities. The heat requisite to 
smelt it is created by immense bellows, generally driven by water- 
power, but frequently by steam. 

12. When a sutficient quantity is melted, it is Jraicn or made to 
flow from the bottom of the furnace into hollows made in sand, 
where it cools in shapes that are called " pigs." 

13. These pigs are then either taken to another furnace to be 
again melted and formed into stoves, pots, and other articles of cast- 
metal, or to ihefofire, to be refined into bar iron ; or to the rolling- 

* vtill, to be drawn into rods, plates, bars, or rails. 

14. At the/a?-^e, the pigs are put into a charcoal fire till they are 
formed into a large soft lump, and then placed under heavy ham- 
mers, moved by water-power, till all tiie impurities are forced out, 
and the mass thus purified is formed into a bar, such as is seen at 
blacksmith's shops. 

15. At the roUinir-mill, the same, and various other shapes are 
given to the iron, and in the same way, except that instead of being 
hammered, the heated metal is drawn or pressed into the required 
form by rollers or moulds, which do not so completely expel the 
im'\)urities of the metal as the hammer. 

16. The quantity of pig metal produced in Pennsylvania in 1845, 
was 275,000 tons, worth, at $30 in market, $8,250,000. 

17. Charcoal, so necessary in the formation of the best iron, is 
nothing but half-burned wood. 

18. The wood being cut into proper lengths, is piled in the form 
of a dome, covered with leaves, charcoal-dust, and clay, to exclude 
the air, and then set on fire from below. During the buriiing it is 
carefully watched, night and day, to prevent flame from burst- 
ing out ; for if such a draught of air were allowed as to produce 



S. Of anthracite iron ? 

10. IV/uit will be the effect of both ? 

11. How is iron smelted ? 

12. How formed into pigs ? 

13. What use is made of pigs ? 

14. What is done at a forge ? 



15. At a rolling-mill? 

16. How much pig ?netal was made 
ill Fennsylvania in 1845, and what 
was its value ? 

17. What is charcoal? 

18. How is it made ? 



88 



STATE-BOOK OB PENNSYLVANIA. 



•flame, this would carry off the substance of the wood, and leave 
nothing but ashes. But so long as this is avoided, the heat merely 
expels the moisture and gases of the wood, and changes it into 
charcoal or carbon. 

19. Being only half burned wood, charcoal is capable of being 
set on fire again, and of producing a strong heat. It is the heat 
caused by this second burning that is found so beneficial in the 
production of the best iron ; the chief reason of which is, that it adds 
to the metal the quantity of carbon requisite to convert it into mal- 
leable iron. 

FIFTH CLASS. 

1. The geological features of these counties, being of the second- 
ary formation, are nearly similar to those of the anthracite class, 
except in the quality of their coal. 

2. In an agricultural point of view, the soil of the bituminous 
mountain counties is not so various, nor so much of it fertile as in 
the sixth class. A large portion is composed of high table land, 
and " glades," looking mostly to the west. It is not very fit for 
the growth of wheat or corn, but is noted for the production of 
grass, oats, potatoes, and buckwheat. 

3. Alluvial and limestone tracts, when they occur, are similar in 
fertility to those in other parts of the state. 

4. Most of these counties being new, the population is thin, and 
the buildings and other improvements not equal to those of the 
older and richer counties. 

5. The climate is similar to that of the other mountain counties. 



6. Bituminous is that kind of mineral coal which contains a 
large proportion of bitumen (mineral tar) and sulphur ; is softer and 
less shining in appearance than anthracite ; and burns freely with 
mucli flame and smoke. 

7. The same remark made with regard to the geological position 
of the anthracite coal applies to the bituminous. Both are always 
highest or last in formation, and though in some of the latter, the 
surface is actually lower than the adjoining mountains of the iron 
region ; yet the strata of the highest peaks, when traced eastwardly 
and westwardly, are always found to dip or pass under the rocks 
which support the coal. 

8. Some bituminous coal is found in portions of the iron class 
that adjoin the bituminous region, but being either in small quantity 



19. IVhat is its use in refining 
iron ? 

1 . What are the geological features 
of this class ? 

2. TVliat is their agricultural cha- 
racter ? 

3. What is said of alluvial and 
hmestone tracts ? 



4. What of population and im- 
provements ? 

5. Of climate? 

6. What is bituminous coal ? 

7. What is the position of bitumi- 
nous coal ? 

8. What is said of the bituminous 
coal in the iron counties ? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 89 



and isolated, or found in counties whose other minerals and jreneral 
productions belong properly to the iron^ class, they are included in 
that group. 

9. On the west also of the bituminous mountain counties, are 
found a larg-e class covered almost entirely with bituminous coal, 
and the rocks bearing that valuable mineral. But as they resemble 
the present class in no other respect, they necessarily form a group 
by themselves. 

10. There are marked differences between tiie two bituminous 
classes. The surface of the western is much lower and the rocks 
more horizontal than those of the eastern, thus presenting a more 
suitable climate and soil for agriculture. On the other hand, the 
eastern, though higher in surface, less fertile in soil, and more severe 
in climate, will probably be ultimately found to possess a greater 
variety of mineral wealth than the other. This is owing to the 
larger number of rock strata brought to the surface on the tops and 
sides of the hills, and in the valleys. 

11. There seems to be some connection between the presence of 
bitumen and salt. No salt wells have yet been discovered in the 
anthracite region, while they are general in the bituminous. 

12. Not less than 12,000 square miles, or one-fourth of the area 
of the state, contain bituminous coal. 

13. It is so generally present over nearly all the counties west of 
the Allegheny ridge, is so frequently exposed at the surface, and 
has been so long known as a fuel, that there is little of interest in 
the history of its discovery or use. 

14. It is mined pretty much in the same manner as anthracite, but 
being found at almost every point where it is needed, the mines are 
not so extensive, nor the business so systematic. 

15. Being mined at such a vast number of places, and applied to 
so many purposes, it is difficult to ascertain correctly the quantity 
annually consumed. But it is supposed, that for all purposes, in- 
cluding domestic use, manufactures, and exportation, close to two 
and a half millions of tons are now raised from the mines. 

16. As a general rule, it may be remembered that anthracite coal 
is only found east of the main Susquehanna, and bituminous, with 
few exceptions, west of the Great Allegheny ridge ; the intermediate 
being the iron region of the state. 



9. In the western counties 1 

10. What is the difference between 
the two bituminous classes ? 

11. What is said of bitumen and 
salt ? 

12. How much of the state contains 
bitumifious coal i 



13. What is said of its history ? 

14. How is it milled ? 

15. Why is it difficult to estimate 
it ? How much is now raised ? 

16. What is the general rule about 
anthracite and bituminous coal, and 
iro7i ? 



8* 



90 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



SIXTH CLASS. 

1. All these counties belong to the highest strata of our secondary 
formation ; or in other words, they are the same as the bituminous 
coal -bearing rocks of the Allegheny. In the Ohio valley, of 
which these counties form a part, the upper secondary rocks are 
found nearly undisturbed, with an almost level stratification ; while 
in the Alleghenies, they, with many of the underlying rocks, ap- 
pear to have been forced up and broken into immense mountain 
ranges. 

2. One happy effect of this horizontal position of the rocks of 
the Ohio valley, is the gentle and often navigable character of its 
streams ; and a most valuable quality in the bituminous strata is, 
that iron- ore and limestone of superior quality are generally found 
in close vicinity with the coal. Thus all the materials for the 
manufacture of that most valuable of all metals are found together. 

3. The surface rocks of this class of counties are the shales, 
slates, sandstones, and limestones, that accompany the coal. But 
in tiic northern parts of Mercer and Venango, and the whole of 
Crawford, they are found stripped of the coal. 

4. The soil formed by the decomposition of these rocks is of a 
quality either highly fertile in its natural state, or easily susceptible 
of fertilization. It is very productive of all kinds of grain, grass, 
fruit, flax, &c. 

5. From the top of Chestnut Ridgc^ the last of the Alleghenies 
westward, a view is obtained of the formation and character of this 
part of the valley of the Ohio. The whole country, as far as the 
eye can take it in, descends very gradually towards the west. It 
has evidently the appearance of having once been the bottom of 
some vast lake or inland sea. The receding waters, or the streams- 
formed by the rains that have since fallen, appear to have worn the 
nearly level surface into innumerable ravines and valleys, leaving 
those rounded intervening hills that now compose the fertile, but 
uneven fields of this rich agricultural region. 

6. This class of counties possesses all the elements of comfort 
and prosperity. The soil is almost everywhere productive. The 
climate is pleasant and healthful. The streams are nearly all navi- 
gable, and the waters pure; while coal, salt, iron, and limestone are 
abundant. In few regions of the earth has less been left for the 
hand of man to accomplish ; and in as few can the exercise of 
moderate care and industry produce a more ample return. 

7. The western counties are more thickly settled and highly im- 
proved than the middle mountain region of the state ; but not so 



1. Wfiat formation and wliat strata 
do these counties belong to ? 

2. What are the effects ? 

3. Name the surface rocks ? 

4. Describe the soil. 



5. What is seen from Chestnut 
Ridge ? 

6. What does this class possess ? 

7. What is said of the population 
and climate ? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 



91 



much so as the old south-eastern counties, 
nearly resemble the latter. 



In climate they very 



8. The numerous Salt-works on the Allegheny and Kiskemi- 
netas form a prominent feature in the industry of Armstrong, Indi- 
ana, Westmoreland, &c. 

9. This indispensable article is here obtained by evaporating the 
natural brine by means of heat. 

10. The brine or salt-water is obtained by boring into the earth 
from 400 to 800 feet, till a sufficient stream of it is struck. Copper 
tubes are then inserted into the hole or well thus formed, through 
which the brine is pumped to the surface. 

11. It is then put into large shallow pans, and heat applied till 
the water is driven oiT or evaporated, and the dry salt alone left. 

1-2. In this process, of which the chief agent is Jlre,, the inex- 
haustible coal-beds close to the salt-works are invaluable. If the 
large quantities of coal necessarily consumed were to be trans- 
ported any distance to the wells, the cost of the salt would be 
greatly increased. 

13. At some of the works, 15000 bushels of salt have been made 
in one year; and in 1815, the salt works of western Pennsylvania 
produced 550,000 bushels of this indispensable article. 

14. In old times, when no salt was made west of the mountains, 
nor good roads had been formed, this great necessary of life was 
" packed" or carried across from the sea-coast on horses' backs. 

15. In 1813, its manufacture in western Pennsylvania was com- 
menced, by William Johnston, on the Conemough near the present 
town of Saltzburg, in Indiana county. 

16. He noticed the " salt licks," or oozings of brine through 
the surface, and determined to gain access to their source by boring 
into the rock. He was perfectly successful, and thus conferred an 
invaluable benefit upon the western country. 

SEVENTH CLASS. 

1. These counties generally belong to the higher series of our 
secondary for ination i the rocks that compose the surface being 
those that are next below the coal measures, such as shales, slates, 
and sandstones. They are more nearly horizontal in their position 
than in the mountain counties, their inclination being very gentle 
and towards the south. 



8. What are conspicuous in some 
of the comities ? 

9. What is the salt obtained from ? 

10. How is the brine obtained ? 

11. JHow is it changed into dry 
salt? 

12. Why is the vicinity of coal so 
valuable in this process ? 

13. How many barrels are annu- 



ally made at some works, and in the 
whole slate ? 

14. How was salt formerly taken 
to the west ? 

15. What and by whom was salt 
first made in the west ? 

16. How did he accomplish it ? 

1 . Describe the geological forma' 
tion of these counties. 



92 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. Few valuable minerals are found in this class. Along its 
southern borders where it joins the coal and iron counties, some 
small deposits of those minerals occur, but they are nowhere ge- 
neral. The same may be said of limestone. 

3. The soil is, in a state of nature, most congenial to the growth 
of the valuable kinds of timber, especially the pines. 

4. When improved, though not generally adapted to wheat or 
corn, it yields good crops of oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, and 
potatoes ; and forms the very best pasture land in the state. 

5. When finally cleared of their forests, these counties will pro- 
bably be devoted to the raising of live-stock of all kinds. 

6. Erie is not now a lumber county to any great extent, though 
it properly belongs to the class. It only differs from the others in 
having a somewhat less uneven surface and more fertile soil, and 
in being nearly stripped of trees. It is in reality a present speci- 
men of what the best of the lumber counties will be, when more 
generally cleared and improved. 

7. The population and improvements of these counties are such 
as might be expected in a newly settled part of the country. Most 
of the houses are of wood, which, being well painted and white- 
washed, gives their towns and villages a clean and cheerful look. 

8. The climate is more severe than that of the southern counties. 
Winter commences nearly a month earlier, and spring is as much 
later. More snow falls in the season, and the summer heat is less 
intense. 



9. At. present, the chief business of these counties is that of 
Lumbering, which is thus performed : 

10. During the winter, and at other seasons when not differently 
employed, the people cut down the trees, cross-cut them into logs 
of the proper length, and roll or drag them by means of oxen, to 
the nearest stream, down which they are then floated to the saw- 
mill. Here they are sawed into boards or planks. Others, in- 
tended for market in the shape of logs, are squared with the axe 
before being removed from the woods. 

11. The boards or logs are then united into small rafts, and again 
floated down till they reach some large stream or river, where a 
number of small rafts are united into a large one, which is often 
over one hundred feet long. In this form they cire " run" or floated 
during the spring and fall freshets, to the large towns on the lower 
parts of the rivers, for sale. 

2. What is said of the minerals of 
this class ? 

3. What does the soil produce in 
its natural state 1 

4. When improved, what is it best 
adapted to? 

5. When wholly cleared what will 
it prohahly he applied to ? 

6. What is said of Erie ? 



7. Describe the population, im- 
provements, and appearance of the 
county. 

8. The climate. 

9. What is the chief business of 
these counties ? 

10. How is the lumber procured ? 

11. How is it co7iveyed to mar. 
ket? 



NATURAL DIVISIONS. 93 

12. The men who navigate them live upon them in small cabins 
of boards, cooking their victuals as the stream bears them along. 
They float from 20 to 40 miles a day, according to the state of tlie 
current. They depend altogether on the stream to force them along, 
never using their large oars except to keep the raft in the best clian- 
nel, or to approach the shore at night. 

13. The rafts are steered by means of immense oars, swung at 
their front and back parts ; and through intricate passages of the 
rivers they are guided by pilots hired for the purpose. They never 
run at night. 

14. Frequently, at favourite stopping places, the river shore may 
be seen in the evening lined for miles with rails, and all the taverns 
and boarding-houses crowded with the merry raftmen. 

12. What is said of the raflmeitl | \\. What is often seen at their stop- 

13. JIoio are the rafts steered and ping places ? 
guided ? 



94 



STATE-BQjOK 6F PENNSYLVANIA. 



FIRST CLASS. 



PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. 



Columbia Il.R.,..i"-«"-*^"" 


i 


11.^^! . ^___ 40-N, 


DELAWARE /^^^ ^ 1 Philadelphia. 
//s^^w ^ Frankford. 
jf'^^^^ ^ Gennantown. 
y^^PiS'E. * IVLniayunk. 



1. Philadelphia, a south-eastern county^ is hounded on 
the S. and S. E. by New Jersey, N. E. by Bucks, N. -and 
N. W. by Montgomery, and W. by Delaware county. Its 
area, including the city, is 120 square miles, being the 
smallest of all the counties in the state. 

2. It contains neither mountains^ nor large hills ; but a 
low range of the latter traverses the north-western part. 

3. The Streams are the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, 
and Pen-ny-pacld ^ Tac'o-ny, or Frankford^ Po-ques'sing, 
and Darby creeks, falling into the Delaware, and Wis-sa- 
hick' on into the Schuylkill. 

4. The Soil, though not naturally very fertile, has been 
rendered productive by skilful cultivation. That portion 
of it lying on each bank of the Schuylkill below the city, 
is noted for its excellence as pasture and meadow-land. 



1. State the class, boundaries, and 
area of Philadelphia. 

2. Its mountains, hills. 



3. And streams. 

4. Describe its soil. 



FIRST CLASS — PHILADELPHIA. 



95 



5. «it contains few Minerals of value in the arts, or for 
the ordinary purposes of life, except stone and other mate- 
rials for building, which are found at various points. 

6. The Incorporated or hailt Districts of the county 
adjoin the city, and really form part of it. They are : 
the jYoriheni Liberties , with 34,474 inhabitants ; Spriiig 
Garden, with 27,849; and 7^e?m*7?^^07i, with 22,314, on 
the north; and Southwark* with 27,548, and Moyamensing, 
with 14,573, on the south of the city. 

7. The county also contains the Townships of Blockley, 
Bristol, Byherry, Germuntown, King-ses'sing, Lower Dub- 
lin, Moreland, Moy-a-men'sing^Jforthern Liberties, Pas-sy'- 
unk, Penn, Oxford, and Roxborough. 

8. These townships, which constitute the country part, 
as the incorporated districts do the town part of the county, 
contain the boroughs of Germantown, Frankford, West 
Philadelphia, and Man-a-yun]<! ; and the villages of Bndes- 
biirg,Bu.stleton, Ilolmesburg, Haddington, Hamilton, Man- 
tua, Sunville, iyc. 

9. The Public Improvemf:nts are : Railroads leading to 
the Susquehanna, at Columbia and Harrisburg, to Norris- 
town, Reading, and Pottsville, and to Trenton, New York, 
Wilmington, and Baltimore ; Canals, to the coal region in 
Schuylkill and Carbon counties, and to the Susquehanna, 
at Middletown; Turnpikes connecting with all the sur- 
rounding towns and cities; and seven Bridges across the 
Schuylkill. 

10. The Population of the county (exclusive of the 
city) was, in 1840, 164,372, and in 1845, at least 
200,000. 

11. The value of Property in the city and county, 
assessed for taxation in 1845, was $116,985,697; but the 
actual value of all the property in the city and county was 
probably not less than $250,000,000. 

12. The first permanent settlers of the county were 
Swedes. These were followed in 1682 by English Friends, 

* Southwark pronounced Suth'erk. 



5. Minerals. 

6. Name the incorporated districts, 
with their population. 

7. Also the townships. 

8. Name the boroughs and villages. 



9. What are the public improve- 
ments? 

10. What was the population in 1840? 
what now? 

11. What is the value of property ? 



96 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



and others, under William Penn. Since that period, it has 
become the dwelling-place of citizens from almost every 
civilized nation in the world. 

13. The MAIN Pursuits of the people of the incorpo- 
rated districts of the county, are commerce and manufac- 
tures ; of the outlying townships, y^rmzTio- and gai'dening ; 
and of the boroughs and villages, chiefly manufactures. 

14. The Literary Institutions are a large number of 
academies and female seminaries, and numerous common 
schools ; with several literary and scientific societies and 
institutions. 

15. This county elects eight members to the House of 
Representatives, and three to the Senate of the state, and 
with a small portion of the city, 3 members of Congress. 

16. The county and city form the first judicial dis- 
trictj and have a Court of Common Pleas, with four law 
judges, and a District Court with three law^ judges ; each 
court possessing similar powers with those of the same 
class in the other counties. 

17. The county of Philadelphia contains many thriving and plea- 
sant towns, in most of which large manufactories of various kinds 
have been established. 

18. The borough of Frankford is five miles N. E. of the city, and 
contains over 2000 inhabitants. It is in the midst of a well culti- 
vated and populous country, and has in the vicinity a number of 
extensive manufacturing establishments. 

19. Gerviantoivn , with a present population of not less than 3000, 
was laid out in 1684, and incorporated as a borough in 1689. It 
was first settled by German Friends, from which event it took its 
name. It contains several schools, churches, and a bank. It is six 
miles N. W. from Philadelphia, with which it is connected by rail- 
road and turnpike. 

20. Man-a-yimk' is on the eastern bank of the Schuylkill, eight 
miles above the city. It is now one of the busiest manufacturing 
tOAvns in the state, and has been wholly built up, since 1819, by the 
immense water-power created by the construction of the Schuylkill 
canal. That work passes through it, as do the Norristown railroad 

/"and turnpike. It now contains 600 dwelling-houses, with upwards 
of 30 establishments for the manufacture of cotton, wool, flour, paper, 



12. How was the county peopled ? 

13. What are the main pursuits of the 
people ? 

14. The literary institutions? 

15. Howmany Representatives does it 
elect ? 



16. What judicial district does it form, 
and how many court.s has it? 

17. JVJiat is said of the toicns ? 

18. What of Frankford? 

19. What of Germantown ? 

20. Manairimk? 



FIRST CLASS PHILADELPHIA. 97 

and other articles. It has five churches, and two bridges over the 
Schuylkill. 

21. Near Brificdntrf;:, at the mouth of Frankford creek on the Dela- 
ware, the United States arsenal is erected. 

22. West Philadelphia, Holmesburg, and Haddington are also pleasant 
and flourishing towns, with several manufacturing establishments. 

23. The Wire Suspension Bridge across the Schuylkill at Fairmount 
is a noble and beautiful structure. The road-way is suspended on 
immense cables, made of Juniata iron. The span is 343 feet, and 
the breadth of the wagon and foot-ways 27 feet. The cost was 
$55,000. It was completed in 1842. 

24. The old Permanent Bridge across the Schuylkill at Market 
street was finished in 1805, at a cost of $275,000. It is now a free 
bridge. 

25. The country portion of the county is mostly occupied by gar- 
dens and small farms, producing articles for the Philadelphia ti^arket. 
The immense quantities of manure annually carted from the city 
have enabled the owners of the soil to render it very productive. 
The fruit and vegetables supplied by them are consequently excel- 
lent, abundant, and cheap. 

26. This county is watered by several small creeks, all of which 
afford considerable water-power for mills and factories. Po-gues'sing 
separates it on the N. E. from Bucks, and Darhj on the S. W. from 
Delaware. Wis-sa-hic/ulon flows from Montgomery, and passing 
through a more hilly country than the others, presents much beau- 
tiful scenery along its banks. 

27. Htstort. — Philadelphia is one of the three original counties esta- 
blished by Penn in 1682, at which time it extended indefinitely towards 
the N. W., bounded on one side by Bucks, and on the other by Chester. 
Previously, and as far back as 1642, it had been partially occupied 
by the Swedes and Dutch, the former of whom, in 1677, built a church 
at Wec-ca-coe', in Southwark. The county, soon after its settlement 
by the English, became thickly peopled. In 1752, part of it was 
taken off to form a portion of Berks. During the Revolutionary 
war, it was the scene of many stirring events, especially of the bat- 
tle of Germantown, which took place on the 4th of October, 1777. 
In 1784, it was reduced to its present size by the formation of Mont- 
gomery. Since that period, its history has been so intimately con- 
nected with that of the city, as not to admit of separate detail. 

28. The same remark applies to the many noted citizens of the 
county. They will be named under the head of the city ; in which 
connection, also, the incorporated duitricts of the county will be 
described. 



21. Bridesbiirg? 

22. What of the others? 

23. Whiat of the Wire Bridge? 

24. Of the Pennatient Bridge? 



25. What of the country portion ? 

26. Of the streams? 

27. What is the history of the county ? 

28. What is said of its noted citizens: 



98 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 




riiiladelphia from the Delaware, below Uie IVavy Yard. 



CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

1. The city proper of Philadelphia is hounded by the 
county on all sides, except the east, where it is separated 
from New Jersey by the Delaware. 

2. It extends from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, about 
two miles east and west ; and from Vine to Cedar street, 
about one mile north and south. 

3. It occirpies a level neck of land between the rivers 
Delaware and Schuylkill ; and the whole ground plot of 
the city being now nearly covered with buildings, the 
town has spread north and south into the incorporated 
districts of the county. 

4. Including the adjoining districts, Philadelphia/Jwi/s 
on the Delaware about four and a half miles, and on the 
Schuylkill nearly two miles. 

5. It is distant 120 miles from the Atlantic, by the 



1. How' is the city bounded? 

2. What is its extent? 

3. Where is it seated? 

4. What is its front on the Delaware, 
and Schuylkill? 



5. How far is it from the Atlantic, Har- 
risburg, Pittsburg. New York, Balti- 
more, and Washington ? 



FIRST CLASS PHILADELPHIA. 



99 



course of the Delaware river and bay, and 60 in a straight 
line across New Jersey ; and is 100 miles E. of Harris- 
burg, 300 E. of Pittsburg, 87 S. W. of New York, 
95 N. E. of Baltimore, and 136 N. E. of Wash- 



6. It W3.S founded by William Penn in 1682 ; ?nd soon 
became, and long continued to be, the largest city in the 
:;olonies and the Union. It is now the second in size, 
New York being the first. 

7. In 1840, the population of the city proper was 93,665, 
and of the whole town of Philadelphia, including the in- 
corporated districts of the county, 220,423. In 1845, the 
whole population was probably not short of 260,000. 

8. The streets are laid out in straight lines, of regular 
width, and cross each other at right angles ; those that 
lead from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, running nearly 
from east to west, and those that cross them, from north to 
south. 

9. The houses are generally built of brick. Most of 
them have white marble steps, with which material, also, 
the lower story of many is faced, giving the city an ex- 
tremely neat and cheerful appearance. 

10. The streets are paved with stone, having the side- 
walks covered with brick or flags, and are noted for their 
cleanliness. 

11. There are six large public squares, viz.: Indepen- 
dence, Washington, Penn, Franklin, Logan, and Ritten- 
house, containing from 8 to 10 acres each, laid out in 
walks, and planted with various shade and flowering trees 
and shrubs. 

12. The principal public buildings are the State House, 
the Custom House, (formerly the United States Bank,) 
the Merchants'' Exchange, Pennsylvania and Girard Banks, 
United States Mint, with a great number of spacious and 
elegant churches, halls, and other edifices. 

13. Out of the bounds of the city, are the Girard 
College, United States JVaval Asylum, Blockley Almshouse, 



6. Who founded il? what is its present 
rank ? 

7. Its population? 

a How is it laid out? 
I'. Of what is it built ? 



10. How paved ? 

11. Mow many public .squares? 

12. Name the chief public buildings iii 
the city ? 

13. In the county ? 



100 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Eastern Penitentiary^ Moyamensing Prison^ and numerous 
other large and noble structures. 

14. Many of the public buildings are of white marble, 
and constructed after some of the purest and most beauti- 
ful models of Grecian architecture. 

15. The chief Literary Institutions are the University 
of Pennsylvania, four medical colleges, numerous acade- 
mies, seminaries, and boarding schools, and the admirable 
series of public or free schools, of which the High school 
deservedly attracts general adm^iration. 

16. There is also a large number of literary and scien- 
tific associations that rank Philadelphia high in the scale 
of learning and intelligence. At the head of these are 
the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Library, and Phila- 
delphia Museum. 

17. The Charitable //ts^zMio/zs, both public and private, 
are very numerous. The principal are the Philadelphia 
Almshouse, Pennsylvania Hospital, asylums for the deaf 
and dumb, blind, and insane, for orphans and for destitute 
females ; the House of Refuge for juvenile offenders, the 
Friends' almshouse and Lunatic Asylum, Wills' Hospital, 
wqth those of very many beneficial and other benevolent 
societies. 

18. The chief Prisons are the Eastern Penitentiary, in 
which convicts from the Eastern Dictrict of the state are 
punished by solitary confinement, and the Moyamensing 
prison, which is the common jail of the city and county. 

19. Philadelphia is supplied wdth abundance of pure 
wafer, distributed in iron pipes, from thcFairmount Water- 
works on the Schuylkill. These works form one of its 
chief ornaments as well as greatest blessings. 

20. It is lighted by gas, which is produced from bitumi- 
nous coal and rosin, and purified wdth lime, and distributed 
by pipes into every street, and into many of the houses. 

21. It is noted for the excellence of its apparatus for the 
extinguishment oi fires, and for the courage and skill of 
its firemen. 



14. What are many composed of? 

15. What are the chief literary insti- 
tutions ? 

16. What 
associations ' 



said of other literary 



17. Name the chief charitable institu- 
tions? 18. Prisons? 

19. How is it supplied with water? 

20. How lighted? 

21. What is said of fires? 



FIRST CLASS PHILADELPHIA, 



101 



22. It contains several commodious covered Market 
Houses^ the chief of which, in Market street, is two-thirds 
of a mile long. They are all noted for their abundant, 
excellent, and regular supply of meat, poultry, butter, fish, 
vegetables, and fruit. 

23. A large number of daily and weekly newspapers 
and of other periodicals are published. In the business 
of book publication also, it now probably stands foremost 
in the Union, 

24. The main pursuits of the citizens are commerce 
and manufactures. 

25. The commerce is chiefly of the importing and ex- 
porting^ and wholesale description, Philadelphia supplying 
nearly the whole of Pennsylvania, and a large portion of 
the western and south-western states, with foreign mer- 
chandise, and receiving their produce in return. 

26. The Manufactures are principally those composed 
of iron, cotton, and wool, for the profitable prosecution of 
which the cheapness and abundance of stone coal, as a 
fuel, afford great advantages. 

27. The city elects 5 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives and 2 to the Senate of the state ; and 1 member 
to Congress. 

28. For state Judicial purposes, it forms, with the 
county, the first District, with a court of Common Pleas 
and a District Court, whose jurisdiction extends over both. 
It has also a United States District Court. 

29. The Government of the city proper is vested in a 
Mayor, Recorder, Common and Select Councils, Alder- 
men, and Constables ; the incorporated districts of the 
county having each its own municipal government. 

30. The city is divided into 17 wards for govern- 
mental and election purposes ; each ward electing an alder- 
man, constable, assessor, &c. 

31. In conjunction with the county, the city elects a 
sheriff, coroner, prothonotaries, register, recorder, clerks 



22. Of market houses ? 

23. Of publications ? 

24. What are the main pursuits of the 
citizens ? 

25. Of what description is its com- 
merce? 

2Q. Its manufactures ? 



27. How many members does it elect? 

28. What judicial district is it in? 

29. Flow is the city proper governed? 
How tlic incorporated districts? 

30. How is the city divided? 

31. What officers dees it elect with 
the county ? 



102 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVAI»1A. 



of the various courts, county commissioners, and auditors, 
for the same terms and with like powers as in other 
counties. 

32. So constant is the improvement, so numerous are the objects 
of curiosity, and so various the interests, of Philadelphia, that it 
would be impossible, even were it proper in a work of this kind, to 
be full and minute in description. All that can be done, in addition 
to the foregoing particulars, is to present some general views. 

33. The first thing that strikes the mind, when contemplating this, 
our chief commercial city, is her commanding and advantageous 
position. 

34. Far enough withdrawn from the sea-coast to be free from 
foreign attack, yet joined to the Atlantic by her noble river; occu- 
pying a middle position between the north and the south, and thus 
escaping the extremes both of their climate and their feelings, yet 
so placed as to benefit by the medium of both ; constituting the 
commercial metropolis and sea-port of a Commonwealth, whose dis- 
tant extremities touch the great lakes and rivers of the vast Valley 
of the Mississippi, yet connected with them by the internal improve- 
ments of the state ; placed low down between two considerable rivers, 
yet commanding the wealth and trade of their sources ; seated on a 
soil affording all the materials for building, yet yielding in abundance 
the productions so indispensable to a great city ; certain of a con- 
stant and cheap supply of coal and iron, those main constituents of 
manufacturing success, yet removed from the sterility and rugged- 
ness of the regions where they are found; with a population capable 
of appreciating and improving these advantages, yet generally 
steady and prudent enough to avoid the great error of over-trading, 
Philadelphia possesses, in her own position and resources, all the 
elements of substantial and permanent prosperity. 

35. Other cities may have one or other of these advantages to a 
greater extent, but none can boast of possessing them all in equal 
degree with her. 

36. The consequence is, that she is now the Jirst manvfacturing city 
in the Union, if all the various branches of industry be taken into 
account. This is undoubtedly the case with regard to the numerous 
articles formed of iron. In the construction of steam locomotive 
engines, for instance, she stands unrivalled. 

37. She also possesses a very large number of cotton and woollen 
factories and sugar refineries, and of establishments for the manu- 
facture of leather, harness, boots, shoes, hats, caps, and bonnets ; 
carriages, furniture, earthen and glassware ; liquors, tobacco, soap, 
candles, drugs, and paints ; besides paper and flour-mills, marble 
and brick-yards, ship-yards, rope-walks, &c. 

38. Philadelphia still ranks as the second commercial city in the 
Union, and will probably retain that position. She is not only more 



32. Why cannot a particular description 
of Philadelphia be here given ? 

33. What first strikes the mind on ex- 
amining it ? 

34. What are those advantagex? 



35. How does it excel most other cities ? 

36. What is the consequence? 

37. What are the other manifactiires ? 

38. What is the rank of Philadelphia in 
commerce ? 



FIRST CLASS PHILADELPHIA. 



103 



readily accessible from the rich west and the south-west than any other 
Atlantic city, but the great variety of articles offered by her nume- 
rous and increasing manufactories, will, it is fair to suppose, induce 
customers from the interior to resort to her store-houses, as well for 
Iheir supply of those articles, as of merchandise generally. 

39. Before, and for some years after the Revolution, Philadelphia 
owned more sea-going s/ii^js than any port in the Union; but, latterly, 
she has been falling behind in this respect. Most of her foreign 
goods are now imported through New York. On the other hand, 
her coasting-trade, particularly in the transportation of coal, has, 
within the same period, immensely increased. She yet possesses 
no ocean steamships. 

40. The coal-trade of Philadelphia, though evidently yet in its in- 
fancy, is already very large. In 1820, only 365 tons were brought 
to the city from the anthracite mines. In 1845, the quantity had 
increased to not less than 1,000,000 tons. It is transported on the 
Schuylkill navigation, the Reading and Pottsville railroad, and on 
the Lehigh Company's works, connecting with the Delaware canal 
and river. 

41. The chief part of the coal-trade of Philadelphia with other 
pons, is transacted along the Schuylkill front of the city ; though 
lately the Reading Railroad Company have established a depot and 
landing at Port Richmond, four miles above the city, on the Dela- 
ware, where large quantities are now exported. From the Delaware 
front, some Lehigh coal is also shipped. 

42. To accommodate and promote the business of Philadelphia, 
there were, in 1845, 13 banks, with an aggregate capital of 
$8,222,380, and a sound circulation of $4,222,000; besides many 
loan companies and savings institutions; over 20 insurance com- 
panies, with capital to the amount of $6,000,000 ; together with the 
Board of Trade, Merchants' Exchange, and various other institutions. 

43. In charitable institutions and societies, both as regards number, 
variety of object and efficiency, Philadelphia is surpassed by no 
other city. Hardly any form of suffering humanity can be men- 
tioned, for which she does not possess a refuge or an alleviation, so 
far as human means can provide it. From the extensive and cosily 
arrangements of Blockley Almshouse and Pennsylvania Hospital, 
down to the unpretending but useful societies for furnishing the 
destitute with chihes, soup, and fuel, a charity as expansive in its 
scope as it is minute in its detail seems to animate the whole. 

44. There are within the bounds of Philadelphia, over 100 churches 
of various denominations, with their Sunday-schools and other use- 
ful and benevolent accompaniments. 

45. Within the last twenty years, the impropriety of burying the 
dead within the bounds of crowded cities has become so obvious, 
that rural cemeteries, or country burying-grounds, are very generally 



39. What chatige has taken place? 

40. What is sairi of the coal business ? 

41. Where is it chiefly transacted? 

42. What is said of banks, insurance 
companies, Sfc. ' 



43. What of charitable institutions? 

44. Hoiv many churches ? 

45. What is said of grave-yards in 
cities? 



104 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



established. In the vicinity of Philadelphia, there are two of these 
beautiful and proper places of sepulture. 

46. Laurel Hill Cemetery is on the bank of the Schuylkill, four 
miles N. W. of the city. It is a spacious tract of land, laid out with 
gravelled walks, and otherwise ornamented in a manner consistent 
with the object. It contains a Gothic chapel and other necessary 
buildings. It was established in 1836, and already presents many 
beautiful monuments of the worth of the departed, and the aflection 
of the living. 

47. Monument Cemetery is in the vicinity of Girard College, and 
was established in 1838. It is also beautifully ornamented. 

48. The most remarkable buildings connected with the city are 
the Eastern Pcmtentiary and Girard College. 

49. The Penitentiary is a huge massive structure, placed on an en- 
closure of ten acres, which is surrounded by a wall 30 feet high. 
The cells are on each side of long corridors, which diverge from a 
common centre. From this centre a watchman commands a view 
of the entrance to each cell in all the corridors. The cells are 
12 feet long, 8 wide, & 10 high. They are warmed by heated air, and 
supplied with water conveyed in tubes. The prisoners' food is 
passed to him through a drawer without his seeing the person who 
places it there. There are two stories or tiers of cells in each cor- 
ridor, and to those of the lower story, a yard for exercise, 18 feet 
by 8, is attached. 

50. The prisoners are employed at some useful trade or business, 
each in his or her own cell, the profit of their labour going to the 
support of the penitentiary. They are furnished with proper books, 
and with sound moral and religious instruction, but are never per- 
mitted to see or communicate with each other, or with persons 
beyond the walls. 

51. This mode of punishment, intended also to reform the ofl^ender, 
is of Philadelphia origin, and seems to have accomplished the object 
in view in a greater degree than any other system that has yet been 
tried. 

52. The Girard College is the most costly, substantial, and magnifi- 
cent structure of the kind in the United States, and has scarcely an 
equal in the M^orld. The main building is 2 1 8 feet long, 1 60 feet wide, 
and 97 feet high. It is surrounded by 35 columns, each 55 feet 
high, and 6 in diameter, with a richly ornamented capital. The out- 
side walls, columns, floors, stairs, and roof, are all of marble, no 
wood being used in the whole building, except for doors. It con- 
sists of two stories, and each story is divided into four rooms, 
50 feet square. This building is intended exclusively for the pur- 
poses of instruction. 

53. On each side of the main building there are two others, 
125 feet long, 52 wide, and two stories high. One of these is in- 



46. O/LmirelHill? 

47. Of Monument Ce)netery? 

4S. Vrtiich are the most remarkable build- 
ings? 

49. Describe the Penitentiary. 



50. Hoio are the conricts treated ? 

51. What is the effect ? 

52. Describe Girard College. 

53. What other buildings are connected 
with it? 



FIRST CLASS — PHILADELPHIA. 



105 



tended for the residence of the professors and their families, and the 
other three for the students. 

54. The whole is placed on a lot of 45 acres, on high ground, a 
mile north-west of the city proper. It was commenced in 1833, and 
is not yet completed. 

55. This magnificent college is erected under the will of the late 
Stephen Girard, and, in the words of the testator, is for the education 
and maintenance " of poor white male orphans," " to be received 
between the ages of six and ten, and to be bound out, between the 
ages of fourteen and eighteen, to suitable occupations, as those of 
agriculture, navigation, arts, mechanical trades, and manufactures." 

56. In medical science, Philadelphia is now and has for years been 
deservedly celebrated. Her character in this department of knowledge 
has been built up by a long list of eminent teachers, among whom, 
Rush, Wistar, and Physic may be named. Students resort to her 
medical schools, not only from all the other states, but from Canada, 
South America, and the West Indies. During the winter of 1845-6, 
their number exceeded 1000. 

57. The free schools of Philadelphia compose her chief glory. By 
their agency, an education, embracing all the ordinary and many of 
the higher branches, is conferred upon her youth, without cost to 
the individual, and at less than one-fourth the expense to the com- 
munity, that a similar course of instruction would cost in the ordi- 
nary pay-schools. 

58. The law regulating this noble system is not confined to the 
city, but extends over the whole county, conferring its blessings 
upon every district and township. 

59. The instruction is so thorough, and the discipline so exact, 
that admission to the High School of the series is a matter of great 
difficulty, and is only conferred upon real merit and undoubted 
qualification. In the High School, in 1845, there were over 400 
students. The course of study occupies four years ; the acquire- 
ments are equal to those of many colleges ; and the diploma, 
when obtained, is a sure passport to employment, because none but 
the industrious, the studious, and the intelligent, can attain it. Al- 
ready the graduates of this school are sought by merchants and 
men in large business, as clerks and assistants ; and some of them 
have become partners in houses to whose confidence the High 
School diploma w^as their chief recommendation. 

60. The police regulations of Philadelphia have long been noted 
for their simplicity and efficiency. But latterly the occurrence, on 
several occasions, of turbulence and disregard for the laws, would 
seem to indicate either that they have become relaxed, or that the 
city of Penn is not uncontaminated by the unruly spirit of the age. 
It is believed, however, that the sound moral instruction bestowed 
by her free schools will expel the foul spirit, and teach the rising 



54. Hmu much land belongs to it, and 
when was it commenced ? 

55. llTio caused it to be erected, and for 
what purpose? 

50. What is said of the medical schools ? 



57. OfthefreeschooU? 

58. Haw far do they extend ? 

59. What is said of the High School! 
(50. Of the police of the city ? 



106 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

generation that the first duty of the citizen is obedience to the laws, under 
all circumstances. 

61. HisTORT. — The site of Philadelphia seems to have been called 
Coaquannock by the Delaware Indians, who occupied it before the 
white men. The Swedes were its first permanent settlers. Three 
sons of a person of that nation called Sven (subsequently known as 
Swansons) held the ground on which the lower part of the city 
stands, by deed from the British governor of New York, dated in 
1664. Penn's grant of the province was obtained early in 1681, 
and the first settlers, under it, arrived in the August of that year, in 
the ship John and Sarah of London. Philadelphia not being yet laid 
out, they landed at the Swedish town of Upland, (now Chester.) 

62. In 1682, William Penn, having arrived, selected the site for the 
city, and regularly laid it out. He procured the land of the Svens 
for that purpose, by giving them other land on the Schuylkill 
in exchange. He gave the new town, and the county in which 
it is placed, the name of Philadelphia, which he had determined on 
before he left England. It was the name of an ancient city in Asia 
Minor, and adopted on account of its indicating the harmony he 
wished to prevail in the new town. It is composed of the Greek 
words philos, a friend, and adelphos, a brother ; and may be said to 
mean the city of brotherly love. It soon grew into importance, as 
many as 23 ships having arrived from various parts of Europe with 
settlers, before the close of 1682. When Penn returned to England 
in June, 1684, the population had already reached 2,500. He did 
not again visit Philadelphia till 1699, when he found it much in- 
creased and improved. The same year the yellow fever first made 
i's appearance in the town. 

63. In October, 1701, Penn chartered Philadelphia as a city, and 
Edward Shippen was the first mayor. The same year, Penn finally 
returned to England. The old Court House, in the middle of Market, 
where it is crossed by Second street, was built in 1707. Here 
the Assembly met and the courts were held. The present State 
House, in Chestnut street, was commenced in 1729, and the central 
portion completed in 1735. In 1731, the Philadelphia Library was 
commenced by Dr. Franklin. In 1751, an Academy, which subse- 
quently became the University of Pennsylvania, was founded. It was 
chartered in 1753, erected into a College in 1755, and a University 
in 1779. The bell procured for the state-house from England, in 
1752, having been broken by accident, a new one was cast in Phila- 
delphia and hung in the steeple, with this remarkable motto upon 
it : " Proclaim liberty throughcntt the land, and to all the people thereof. ^^ 
The same year, Pennsylvania Hospital was founded, chiefly by the 
exertions of Dr. Franklin, the population of the city then being 
about 14,000. In 1760, the population was 18,000, and in 1770, 
28,000. 

64. In the month of September, 1774, the first Continental Congress 
met in Carpenters' Hall. On the fourth of July, 1776, Ixdependknce 
was publicly declared from the steps of the State-House ; the Declara- 

61. Name the chief events in the history I 62. From 1682 till 1700. 
of Philadelphia till 1682. | 63. From 1700 till 1760. 



FIRST CLASS PHILADELPHIA. 107 



tion having been adopted and signed by the members of Congress, 
in an apartment on the first floor of the eastern end of the main 
building. The courts and public otiices of the city and county are 
now held in the State-House, but Independence Chamber remains in 
the same condition as when the memorable Declaration was there 
adopted. In 1781, the Bank of Nurth America, being the first in the 
Union, was established by Congress. In 1788, the first steamboat 
was tried on the Delaware by John Fitch. In 1790, the population 
of the city and adjoining districts was 42,500. In 1793, the yellow 
fever carried oil' 4041 persons, and drove the greater part of the 
inhabitants from the city. In 1794, Southwark was incorporated, 
and the turnpike to Lancaster completed. In 1799, water from the 
Schuylkill was introduced into the city by steam, and distributed in 
pipes from Centre-square, now called Penn's square. 

65. In the year 1800, the population was G9,300. In 1803, the 
Northern Liberties were incorporated. In 1805, the Permanent Bridge 
was completed across the Schuylkill. In 1809, the Phoenix, the first 
of Fulton's steamboats, was placed on the Delaware, from which time 
steamboats continued to be used. In 1810, the population of Phila- 
delphia was 95,672. Spring Garden was incorporated in 1813. In 
1815, Fair mount Steam Water-ivorks were completed. In 1818, the 
existing Public School Law of the city and county was enacted. In 
1819, the United States Bank (now the Custom House) was com- 
menced, and completed in 5 years. 

66. In 1820, the population was 117,887, and Kensington was in- 
corporated. In 1822, the Fairmount Water-ivorks, as at present in 
operation, were completed. In 1823, the Eastern Penitentiary was 
commenced. In 1824, the Franklin Institute was incorporated. In 
1826, the Schuylkill Navigation was completed. In 1830, the whole 
population was 166,270. In 1833, Girard College was commenced, 
Stephen Girard having left his immense property, worth ten millions 
of dollars when he died, to the city, for the erection and support of 
that institution, and the improvement of the city. In 1834, the Co- 
lumbia Railway was completed, and locomotive engines first used 
on it. In 1835, gas for lighting the city was first introduced. In 
1837, Pennsylvania Hall was burned. In 1840, the population of the 
city and districts was 220,423. In 1843, a gi-eat fire happened in 
Front street. In 1844, the Kensington riots occurred. In 1845, the 
population of the city and districts was not less than 260,000. 

67. Noted CmzKxs. — John. Key was the "first-born'' child of 
European parents in the town of Philadelphia. His birth took place 
in 1682, in one of the " caves" or rude dwellings formed in the river 
bank, near what is now the north-west corner of Vine and Water 
streets. He died in Chester county in 1767. Samuel Carpenter, 
James Logan, David Lloyd, and Edward Shippen, were among the most 
prominent and useful of the first citizens of the town. John JJar- 
traiii, the botanist, was born in Chester county in 1701, but early 
settled in Philadelphia and established the botanic garden near Gray's 
Ferry. He was a great traveller, and died in 1777. Thomas Godfrey, 



G4. Frmn 1774 till ISOO. I G7. Name the most noted citizens befon 

G5. From 1600 tiU 181'). the Revolution. 

66. From 1820 till 1&15. 



108 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

(the inventor of the Quadrant, an instrument for finding the latitude,) 
was born near Germantown in 1704, and died in 1749. 

68. Bevjamin Franklin, the great philosopher, and one of the com- 
mittee who prepared the Declaration of Independence, was a nativ'^e 
of Boston, but settled in Philadelphia in 1723, in his seventeenth year, 
where he resided till his death in 1790. Charles Thomson, secretary 
of the Revolutionary Congress, was an Irishman by birth, but 
arrived in Philadelphia in 1739, in his tenth year, and died in 1824. 
David Rittenhouse, the great mathematician, was born near German- 
town, 1732, and died in 1796. Robert Morns, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and the financier whose abilities and 
wealth sustained it under so many difficulties, was born in 
England in 1733, but came with his father to Philadelphia in 1746. 
He died in 1806. Joseph Reed, president of the state, a general in 
the revolutionary army, an incorruptible patriot, and a sound jurist, 
was born in New Jersey in 1741, and died in Philadelphia in 1785. 
John Cadwalader, a gallant general who fought at Trenton, Prince- 
ton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, was born in Phila- 
delphia in 1742 and died in 1786. James Wilson, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the Convention 
which framed the Constitution of the United States, and one of the 
judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, was born in Scot- 
land in 1742, arrived in Philadelphia in 1766,and died in 1798. Thomas 
Mifflin, a general in the revolutionary army, and subsequently gover- 
nor of the state, was born in Philadelphia in 1744, and died at Lan- 
caster in 1800. Nicholas i5trf</Ze, a captain in the first American navy, 
was born in Philadelphia in 1750. This gallant officer was blown 
up with his crew, in the Randolph of 32 guns, during an obstinate 
contest with the British ship Yarmouth of 64, on the 7th of March, 
1778. Benjamin Rush was born near Philadelphia in 1745, and died 
in 1813. He was an eminent and learned physician, and medical 
professor and writer; he was also one of the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

69. Wdliam White was born in Philadelphia in 1748, and died in 
1836. He was chaplain to the Revolutionary Congress, and author, 
among other works, of " Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church," of which church in Pennsylvania he was the bishop from 
1787 till his death. Stephen Girard was born at Bordeaux in France, 
in 1750, settled in Philadelphia in 1769, and died in 1831. He was 
a most sagacious and successful merchant, and left his immense 
estate of $10,000,000 nearly all to the city of Philadelphia. William 
Bradford was born in Philadelphia in 1755. He was appointed 
attorney-general of Pennsylvania in 1780; judge of the Supreme 
Court in 1791, and attorney-general of the United States in 1794, 
and died in 1795, at the early age of 39. He was one of the most 
active and influential among the reformers of the penal code of the 
state in 1790. Alexander James Dallas was born in Jamaica in 1759, 
settled in Philadelphia in 1783, and died in 1817. He was an able 
lawyer, and published valuable law reports and other works. In 

C8. Name those that distinguished them- I 69. Those that became distinguished 
selves in the Becclution. since. 



y 



FIRST CLASS DELAWARE. 



109 



1814, he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury of the United Slates, 
and in 1815 also acted as Secretary of War. Will'iam Td^hinanviz.% 
born in Maryland in 1756, was brought by his father to Philadelphia 
in 1762, and died in 1827. From 1806 till his death, he held 
the important station of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
state, and discharged its duties with an ability inferior to that of few 
judges thatever saton any bench, and an integrity above all suspicion. 
Caspar Wistar was born at German town in 1760, and died in 1813. 
He was a skilful physician, and an able medical professor and 
writer. Philip Syng Physic wa.s horn in Philadelphia in 1768 and 
died in 1837. He was a learned and skilful physician, and may be 
called the father of American surgery. 



DELAWARE COUNTY. 





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Turnpike. _^:^s=^^^ V ^^ ^^2'*'"iir 


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CHESTER liT N^ ^c^S\ >y 










N E 


W JERSEY 

1 Chester 


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2 Marcus Hook. 






3 Darby. 






4 Le.perville. 








5 Lazaretto. 



1. Delaware, the south-eastern county, is hounded on 
the E. by Philadelphia, N. E. by Montgomery, N. W. and 
W. by Chester, S. by the state of Delaware, and S. E. by 
the river Delaware, which divides it from New Jersey. Its 
area is 180 sq. m. 

2. It contains no mountains. The north-western part 
is hilly, but towards the river the surface is level. 

3. Its streams are the Delaware river, and Brandywine, 
Chester, Ridley, Crum, Darby, Cobb's, and some smaller 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I 2. Has it any mountains l 
and ares of Delaware? I 3. Name its streams? 

10 



110 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



creeks^ which nearly all cross the county from the west and 
fall into the Delaware. 

4. The soil was originally not fertile, but has been ren- 
dered very productive by judicious farming. 

5. No limestone nor very valuable minerals are met in 
the county, except building stones of the granitic class, 
which are sent in large quantities to Philadelphia and other 
places. On Crum and Darby creeks, also, great numbers 
of superior whet-stones are procured. 

6. It contains 21 townships y 2 boroughs, and several 
flourishing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are : Chester y the county-seat and the 
oldest town in the state, situated on the Delaware, and con- 
taining about 1000 inhabitants, and Marcus-Hook. The 
villages are Darby, Leiperville, Lima, Village Green, fyc. 

8. The Public Improvements are the railroad from 
Philadelphia to Wilmington, which passes through the 
whole length of the county ; and the Columbia railroad 
through the north-eastern part. Turnpikes from Philadel- 
phia to Wilmington, Baltimore, and Lancaster, also traverse 
the county. 

9. The Population in 1840 was 19,791, and the assessed 
value of property $7,264,721 in 1845. 

10. The earliest settlers were Swedes. These were soon 
followed by some Dutch or Hollanders, and they again by 
large numbers of English and Welsh, who were princi- 
pally Friends. 

11. The chief pursuits of the people are agriculture and 
manufactures. Most kinds o^ grain are produced, but the 
land is best adapted to pasture and meadow. 

12. Delaware is one of the foremost manufacturing 
counties in the state. It possesses a large number of cot- 
ton and woollen factories ; flour, saw, and paper-mills ; roll- 
ing-mills, furnaces for castings, potteries, tanneries, &c. 

13. The Literary Institutions are numerous, and of 



4. Describe its soil? 

5. Its minerals? 

6 How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages? 

8. What are the public improvements ? 



9. Its population and assessed pro- 
perty ? 

10. By whom was it settled? 

11. What are the chief pursuits and 
productions ? 

12. Has it any manufactures ? 

13. Literary institutions ? 



FIRST CLASS DELAWARE. 



Ill 



an elevated class. They are the Friends' *^ Haverford 
Central School," the Delaware county Institute of Science, 
six Public Libraries, and several Lyceums, and other 
useful institutions. 

14. There are a number of respectable private acade- 
mies and schools, and 61 common schools, all in a pros- 
perous condition. There are 5 churches in the county. 

15. This county elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Chester, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Montgomery, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the 
fifteenth judicial district. 

IG. The Townships of Delaware are, Jlsfoii, Bethel, Birminghamy 
Chester, Upper Chichester, Lower Chichester, Concord, Darby, Upper Darby, 
Eds;mo,tl, Haverford, Marple, Middlctown, Newtown, Upper Providence, 
Neiher Proviifence, Radnor, Ridley, Sprinpifield, Thornbury, and Tinicum. 

17. Chkstku, the oldest town in Pennsylvania, was commenced 
by the Swedes, about 1643. By them it was called Upland. Here 
Penn held his first provincial assembly, in 1682, and passed many 
wise laws. It took its name from the city of Chester, in England, 
the birtli-place of Pearson, one of Penn's companions. After the 
laying out of Philadelphia, in the latter part of the same year, it 
ceased to increase as rapidly as it had done before. It was incor- 
porated as a borough in 1795, but has experienced little improve- 
ment for many years. It contains a court-house, jail, market-house, 
several churches, a library, and a bank. It is a pleasant, quiet 
place, and is fifteen miles south-west from Philadelphia. 

18. Blarcus Hook is on the "Delaware, three miles below Chester, 
near the south-east corner of the state. It is an old town with about 
400 inhabitants. During the earlier years of the province, it was a 
place of some resort, large vessels frequently wintering at its wharf. 
But it has for many years ceased to be used as a port, and the town 
been going to decay. Latterly, however, it has shown some ap- 
pearance of improvement. 

19. Darby is a pleasant village, at the head of tide-water on Darby 
creek. It is half-way between Philadelphia and Chester. It con- 
tains several mills, and has a number of delightful country seats in 
the vicinity. 

20. The Tmvns of Delaware, though the oldest, have increased 
less than any other, in the state. It is, however, probable that the 
establishment of manufactures in the county will add to their popu- 
lation and prosperity. 

21. Above Chester, on the Delaware, is the Lazaretto, or station 
where vessels having contagious diseases on board, or arriving from 



14. Schools? 

15. What members does it elect, and 
in what judicial district is it? 

16. Name its towiiships? 

17. Describe Chester. 



18. Wliat is said of Marcus Hook ? 

19. Of Darby? 

ao. Of the towns of Delaware? 
21. The Lazaretto? 



112 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



sickly ports, perform quarantine, till the health of their crews is re- 
stored, or it is ascertained that they are not infected. They are 
then permitted to proceed to Philadelphia. 

22. The singular curved line, which separates this county from the 
state of Delaware, is part of a circle whose centre is the town of 
NeAv-Castle, from which the line is twelve miles distant. It origi- 
nated in the terms of a grant made in 1684, by the Duke of York, to 
William Penn, of territory south of Pennsylvania, and now forming 
part of the state of Delaware. 

23. The Jirst Flour-mill in the province was erected by Richard 
Townsend, on Chester creek, about one and a half mile north-west 
of the town of Chester. The original dwelling-house built and oc- 
cupied by Townsend is still standing. 

24. The cause of education seems to flourish more generally in 
Delaware than in most of the other counties. Not only are scien- 
tific institutions, public libraries, and schools of the higher grades 
numerous, but the common schools seem to be better managed. 
Many of them are kept open the whole year. 

25. The Friends' " Central School" at Haverford is an excellent 
institution of the collegiate class. It has four professors, and over 
50 students. Its spacious buildings and pleasant grounds are near 
the Columbia railroad, a few miles west of Philadelphia. It was 
established in 1831. 

26. History. — Delaware, which derives its name from the river 
on which it is situated, though not very long organized as a separate 
county, is really the oldest settlement in the state. Its county town 
was the seat of justice of the county of Chester, (then including 
Delaware,) from 1682 till 1789. After the organization of the pro- 
vince by Penn, the county became rapidly settled ; but little of ge- 
neral interest occurred in its history for many years. During the 
Revolutionary war, though no battle was fought on its soil, it was 
frequently overrun by the contending armies. In 1789, it was di- 
vided from the present county of Chester, the new county retaining 
the old name. Since that time it has gone on quietly increasing in 
population, wealth, and intelligence. Latterly, its citizens have em- 
barked largely in manufactures, especially those of cotton and wool, 
for which it is well adapted by its wealth, enterprise, dense popula- 
tion, and extensive water-power. On the 5th of August, 1843, a 
most destructive torrent of rain burst upon this county, causing the 
streams to swell to an unusual height, almost instantaneously, and 
destroying $250,000 worth of property, and 19 lives. 

27. Noted Citizens. — Benjamin West, the celebrated painter, was 
born in 1738, in Springfield township, five miles north of Chester. 
After retaining the first rank in his art, both in the old and the new 
world, during a long life, he died in England, in 1820. 



22. The curved state line ? 

23. Where and by ivhmn was the first 
flour-mill in the province built ? 

24. What of education? 



25. Describe Haverford School. 

26. State the principal events in the his- 
tory of Delaivare. 

27. Who was the most noted citizen? 



FIRST CLASS — CHESTER. 



113 



CHESTER COUNTY. 



1 West Chester. 

2 Downingtowii. 

3 Coatcsville. 

4 Parkesburjr. 

5 Waynes burg-. 

6 Cochranvillc. 

7 Oxford. 

8 New London. 

9 KcnnetSquare, 

10 PiUfhTown. 

11 Kimbcrton. 

2 Phoenixvillc. 
13 Yellow Springs. 




40° N 



1. Chester, a south-eastern county, is hounded on the 
S. E. by Delaware county and Delaware state, N. E. by 
Montgomery, N. W. by Berks, W. by Lancaster, and S. 
by Delaware and Maryland. Area, 740 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains. The hill called the Welsli 
mountain forms its N. W. boundary, and the Valley hills 
are N. and S. of the Great Valley. 

3. The Schuylkill river separates it from Montgomery. 
The creeks are the Brandywine, Elk, Oc-to-ra'ro, White 
and Red Clay, French , Valley, 8fc. 

4. The Soil is very various, but generally fertile, or 
easily susceptible of improvement. The great limestone 
valley crosses the county from N. E. to S. W., is about 
two miles wide, and highly productive. North and south 
of it the land is naturally less fertile, but has been made 
productive by judicious treatment. Nearly the whole 
county will ultimately be cultivated. 



1. What are the class, boundaries 
and area of Chester ? 

2. AVhat are its hills ? 



3. Its streams'] 

4. Its soil ? 



10* 



114 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



5. The CHIEF Minerals are limestone^ marble, iron-ore, 
and chrome. 

6. It contains 48 townships, 2 boroughs, and a large 
number of pleasant villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, West Chester, the seat of justice, 
near the centre of the county, with 2152 inhabitants, and 
Oxford. The villages are, Downington, Coatesville, Phce- 
nixville, Waynesburg, Parkesburg, JYew London, Kennet 
Square, Cochranville, Marshallton, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are. The Columbia and 
Philadelphia Railroad, with a branch to West Chester, the 
Schuylkill JYavigation, the Reading Railroad, and the Phila- 
delphia and Lancaster, Downington and Ephrata, and 
Wilmington and Lancaster turnpikes. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 57,515, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, $18,655,753. 

10. The first settlers were mostly English Friends, who 
came over with Penn. Since that period, many English, 
Welsh, German, and Irish emigrants have given a mixed 
character to the population. Their chief pursuits are 
farming, and gardening, for the Philadelphia market, 
and manufacturing. 

11. The Productions are grain, beef, pork, mutton, but- 
ter, poultry, fruit, &c., to which is to be added a large 
amount of manufactured articles, the county containing 
many furnaces, forges, rolling-mills, and nail factories, 
woollen factories, fulling-mills, and cotton factories, paper, 
flour, and oil-mills, tanneries, &c. 

12. The Literary Institutions are the Athenseum and 
Cabinet of Natural Sciences at West Chester, a number of 
superior academies, seminaries, and boarding schools, and 
209 common schools. Education is generally prosperous. 
There are over 100 churches in the county. 

13. Chester elects 3 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and with Delaware, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; and 1 member of Congress ; and is in the fifteenth 
judicial district. 



5. Its minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 



9. What is the population and property? 

10. Who settled it? 

11. What are the productions? 

12. The literary institutions ? 

13. How many members does it elect, 
and what judicial district is it in? 



FIRST CLASS CHESTER. 115 



14. The Townships are, Birminghavi, E. Bradford, W. Bradford, 
E. BriDidyiviiic, W. Brandijwinc, E. Cain, W. Coin, Clunlesiown, E. Co- 
ventry, N. Coventry, S. Coventry, Eustown, E. Falloufidd, W. Fnllow- 
fitld, E. Goshen, W. Goshen, Honeybrook, Kennet, London-Britain, Lon- 
donderry, Londongrove, E. Marlborough, W. Marlborough, E. Nantmeal, 
W. Nantmeal, New Garden, Ncwlin, New London, E. Nottingham^ 
W. Nottingham, Upper Oxford, Lower O.rford, Penn, Pennshury, E. Pike- 
land, W. Pikeland, Sadsbury, Schuylkill, Thornbury, Tredyffrin, Uivchlan, 
E. Vincent, W. Vincent, Weslown, Waindck, E. Whiteland, W. White- 
land, and Willistown. 

15. West Chester, so called from its situation with regard to old 
Chester, in what is now Delaware county, is one of the most plea- 
sant, improving, and literary towns in the state. It is placed on 
high ground, five miles south of the Great YaWey. It is substantially 
and neatly built, and contains a number of handsome public edifices, 
among which are the bunk, prison, Athcnceuni, Bolniur^ s seminary, and 
several of the churches. It has also the other requisite county 
buildings, an academy, female seminary, and public library. It is 
supplied wirh running water. The town seems to have been com- 
mencedinl784. In 1786, it became theseatof justice, andin 1799 was 
incorporated. It is on the state road, leading from Philadelphia to 
Strasburg, and is 27 miles W. of Philadelphia, and 71 E. of Harrisburg. 

16. There is a county poor-house 8 miles S. W. of West Chester, 
with a large farm attached. 

17. The Friends' Seminary for both sexes, at West own, was esta- 
blished in 1794. It has extensive buildings and a farm. Instruc- 

- tion is afforded by eight teachers. It is an unpretending, but most -~4 
J useful institution. ^ 

X 18. The Yellow Springs is a pleasant watering-place in the north- 
east part of the county, with ample accommodations for visiters. 
The Springs were discovered in 1720, and a cabin, for the shelter 
of visiters, erected in 1750. Near one of the hotels stands a build- 
ing, knoAvn as the " old barracks," erected by General Washington 
for the sick and wounded of his army during the Revolutionary war. \ 
I 19. In Coventry township a forge, called Coventry forge, was built / 
1 by a person of the name of Nutt about 1720. Here was made the 
first iron manufactured in the state. 

20. Phwnixville, at the confluence of French creek with the Schuyl- 
kill, is a flourishing manufacturing town, grown up within 40 years. 
It contains a large cotton factory and extensive iron works. The 
Reading railroad passes through a tunnel of 2043 feet near the 
village. 

21. Parkesburg is a busy growing town on the Columbia and 
Philadelphia railroad. It contains the state depot, with shops for 
the repair of the locomotive engines used on the road, and bids fair 
to become a large place. 

22. History. — Chester was one of the three original counties of 



^ 



14. Name its toionships. 

15. Describe West Chester. 

16. Has it a pnor-hotise ? 

17. Wiat of Westown? 



18. The Yellow Springs': 

19. Coventry Forge? 

20. Phcetiixville? 

21. Parkesburg? 



116 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



the state, laid out by Penn in 1682. Chester, in Delaware county, 
was the seat of justice, the tv\^o counties then forming one, with an 
indefinite extent of territory westward. The county took its name 
from the city of Chester in England, the native place of Pearson, 
one of the companions of William Penn. When first seen by the 
English, it was occupied by the Delaware Indians, from whom the 
founder of the colony purchased the soil. The south-eastern part 
of the county was early occupied, and gradually the whole became 
settled. In 1729, Lancaster was separated from it. Few stirring 
events marked its history for many years. The gentle and honest 
conduct of the early Friends towards the Indians saved the inhabit- 
ants from the ravages of savage warfare. The contests of 1736 
and 1755, which disturbed other settlements, passed over Chester 
county with little annoyance. Part of Berks county was taken off 
in 1752. In the mean time, emigrants from various countries of 
Europe grouped themselves in different parts of the county. The 
English occupied the southern portion, the Welsh the eastern, and 
the Irish the northern and western, where they were soon succeeded 
by many Germans and Hollanders. These large additions of those 
who were strangers to the peaceful creed of the Friends, prepared 
the county to take an active part in the Revolution, some of the 
most important acts of which great drama were performed on its 
soil. In 1775 and 1776, two regiments were raised in Chester county 
to sustain the cause of the country. Of one, Anthony Wayne, after- 
wards so celebrated, was the first colonel. During the war, the 
county was frequently the scene of hostile movements. In 1777, 
the battle of Brandyivine and the massacre of P>wli occurred. Since 
the establishment of independence, little of interest has transpired 
to mark its quiet course of prosperity. In 1789, Delaware was 
taken from the south-east part of the county, reducing it to its pre- 
sent limits. 

23. NoTKD Citizens. — General Anthony Wayne was born in 
Eastown, Chester county, January 1, 1745. He entered the patri- 
otic army in 1775, and served during the war with distinguished 
skill and bravery. He was a member of the state convention of 
1789. In 1795, he concluded a successful and decisive campaign 
against the Western Indians, and died at Erie in 1796. Thomas 
McKean was born at New London in 1734. He was a prominent 
member of the first Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and an active patriot during the whole Revolution. After 
having been chief justice of the state, and subsequently governor, 
he died in 1817. Dr. Hugh Williamson, born in Chester county in 
1735, was an accomplished physician and natural philosopher. 
It was he who, while in London in 1773, obtained possession of 
the celebrated letters of Governor Hutchinson and Lieutenant- 
governor Oliver, of Massachusetts, to the British ministry, which 
he delivered to Dr. Franklin, the agent of the colony, and by 
which the machinations of those officers were disclosed. This fact 
was never discovered to the world till after his death. He finally 

22. What are the chief events in tfu his- I 23. Name its most noted citizens, 
tory of Chester county 7"^ \ 



FIRST CLASS — BUCKS. 



117 



settled in North Carolina, from which state he was a delegate to 
the convention that framed the Constitution of the United States. 
He was the author of a History of North Carolina and other works, 
and died in 1819. 



BUCKS COUNTY. 




1. Bucks, a south-eastern county, is bounded on the 
S. E. and N. E. by New Jersey, on the N. W. by North- 
ampton and Lehigh, and on the S. W. by Montgomery 
and Philadelphia. Its area is 600 square miles. 

2. It has no mountains^ and few hills^ the most con- 
siderable being some of the spurs of the South mountain 
in the northern part. 

3. Its Streams are, the Delaware river, separating it 
from New Jersey, and navigable to the head of tide at 
Trenton ; and the JYe-sha'mi'nyy To-hic/c'on, Durham, and 
other small creeks. 



1. What are the class boundaries, 
and area of Bucks ? 



2. Has it any mountains or hillal 

3. Name the streams. 



118 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



4. The Soil is very various. The northern part is ge- 
nerally uneven, and not very fertile, except in some lime' 
stone valleys which it embraces ; the red-shale soil of the 
middle is kindly and productive ; and the southern end, 
consisting of soil formed from primary rocks, is less fertile 
in grain, but well adapted to grass. The whole county 
may ultimately be made productive. 

5. The valuable Minerals are limestone, plumbago, 
(called black lead,) and some iron-ore. 

6. It contains 29 townships, 5 boroughs, and a large 
number of flourishing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Doylestown, the seat of justice, 
centrally situated, with 906 inhabitants ; Bristol, with 
1448; JYew-Hope, with 820; JYewtown, with 600, and 
Morrisville, with 405. The villages are JYevjport^ Yardley- 
ville, Harlington, Attleborough, Bridgetown, Centreville, 
Greenville, Qaakertown, Hartsville, &c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Delaware divi- 
sion of the Pennsylvania canal, from Bristol to Easton, 
connecting the Lehigh canal with tide-water on the Dela- 
ware ; the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad ; a turnpike 
from Doylestown to Philadelphia, and others in different 
parts of the county ; and eight bridges across the Dela- 
ware at various points. 

9. The population, in 1840, was 48,107. Assessed 
value oi property in 1845, $14,703,067. 

10. The earliest settlers were English and Welsh Friends, 
who have spread over most of the southern part, and Ger- 
ma??5, who occupy the northern, retaining their ownlanguage. 

11. Their ohie^ pursuits are farming, and gardening for 
the Philadelphia market ; all kinds of grain, meat, butter, 
and fruit, forming the main productions. There are also 
many manufactories of various kinds. 

12. The Literary Institutions are 3 academies, 1 
female seminary, and 152 common schools. Education is 
tolerably prosperous. There are 80 churches in the county. 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 

6. How many townsmps, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villasfes. 



8. The public improvements? 

9. What is the population and as- 
sessed property ? 

10. W'ho settled the county? 

11. Their pursuits and productions? 

12. The literary institutions ? 



FIRST CLASS BUCKS. 



119 



13. Bucks elects 3 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and 1 to the Senate of the state; with Lehigh, 
1 member of Congress ; and is in the seventh judicial 
district. 

14. The Townships are, Bedminster, Bensalem, Bristol, Buckingham, 
Doijicstoivn, Durham, Falls, Haycock, Hilltown, Lower Makcfield, Upper 
Make field, Middletoion, Mil ford, New Britain, Newton, Nockamixon, North- 
ampton, Plumstead, RichUind, K. Rockliill, W. Rockhill, Solebury, Soiith- 
ampton, SpHngJicld, l^inicum, Warminster, Warnngton, Warwick, aad 
Wrightstown. 

15. Duylestown is a pleasantj quiet town, on an eminence com- 
manding an extensive view. Its county buildings are substantial, 
convenient edifices of fine sandstone. It has a bank, academy, female 
seminary, 3 churches, and several weekly newspapers. It seems to 
have been commenced about 1780, and took its name from the per- 
sons who owned the ground. It became the county-seat in 1812, 
as being more central than Newtown. It is 24 miles north of 
Philadelphia, and 100 east of Harrisburg. 

16. Bristol, the largest town in the county, was the first seat of 
justice. It is among the oldest settlements in Bucks, and was in- 
corporated in 1720. It is a neat, pleasant place, with 3 churches, 
1 bank, a town hall, and market-house ; and is favourably situated 
for business, at the junction of the DelaAvare canal with the river. 
It is a favourite resort of the citizens of Philadelphia. 

17. New-Hope is a pleasant and flourishing town on the Delaware, 
31 miles above Philadelphia, and opposite Lambertville in New 
Jersey, with which it is connected by a fine bridge. It contains 
820 inhabitants, an academy, lyceum, and several churches. It has 
also several cotton factories, saw-mills, and flour-mills. They are 
driven by the water-power of LigJiam's spring, which discharges a 
large body of water, and falls 110 feet in two miles. 

18. Morrisville is a pleasant borough, with 405 inhabitants, opposite 
Trenton. The bridge over the Delaware, connecting it with Trenton, 
is 1100 feet long, and consists of 5 arches. The arches are of wood, 
and are above the level of the road-way, which is suspended from 
them by means of iron rods. Morrisville took its name from Robert 
Morris, the financier of the Revolution, who resided here some years, 
in a house that was afterwards occupied by General Moreau, of the 
French revolutionary army. 

19. The Log-college was a celebrated classical seminary, and was 
one of the first of the kind established in the state. It was the first 
literary institution, higher than a common grammar school, that 
existed within the bounds of the Presbyterien church in the United 
States. It was established in 1728, by the Rev. William M. Ten- 
nent, principally for the purpose of preparing his four sons and 
other promising young men for the ministry. They, with others, 

13. What members are elected, and 16. Bristol. 
what is the judicial district? 17. New-Hope. 

14. Name the townships. IS. Morrisville. 

15. Describe Doyltstown. 19. Wiat is said of the Log-coUege ? 



120 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

who afterwards became distinguished, were educated there. It was 
built of logs, one story high, and about 18 feet square; and was 
situated 19 miles from Philadelphia, on the Old York road, about 
one mile from the present Neshaminy church. 

20. History. — Bucks was one of the three original counties es- 
tablished by William Penn, at his first landing in 1682. It took its 
name from Buckinghamshire, (shortly written Bucks,) where Penn 
chiefly resided in England. It first extended as far to the north "as 
land should be purchased from the Indiam.'" Before the settlement of 
tlie w^hites it was occupied by the Neshaminies, a tribe of the Dela- 
ware Indians. A considerable settlement had been made in it near 
the lower falls of the Delaware, by some English Friends previous 
to Penn's landing in 1682. His first dwelling was at the manor of 
Peunsburij, on the Delaware, a few miles above Bristol. One of the 
out-houses still remains. Here the founder of the state generally 
resided while in the country, and held most of his conferences with 
the Indians. In 1 697, the town of Bristol was laid out, and was the 
first seat of justice. By the peaceful arts of the Friends, Bucks 
long enjoyed freedom from those Indian hostilities, by which some of 
the other settlements were disturbed. In 1733, the famous "vmlk" 
was performed to ascertain the extent of an Indian purchase, from 
a point near the Delaware. On this occasion Edward Marshall, a 
native of Bucks, accomplished 110 miles from sunrise to sunset, of 
a midsummer-day. This so much exceeded the expectations of the 
Indians, that they refused to ratify the contract, and it was subse- 
quently abandoned. In 1752, Northampio7i, including the present 
county of Lehigh, was separated from Bucks. Little remarkable 
occurred till 1775, when the last of the Indians left the county, and 
removed to the Wabash. During the Revolutionary war, its proxi- 
mity to Philadelphia brought Bucks withm the scope of hostile 
movements, and subjected many of its non-combatant citizens to 
harassing suspicions and treatment. Since that era, it has held 
on the even tenor of its way, growing populous and wealthy from 
its favourable position on the Delaware, and vicinity to a constant 
market for its surplus produce of every kind. 

21. Noted Citizens. — The Rev. William M. Tennent was born in 
Ireland in 1673. He came to America in 1716, and, in 1721, settled 
in Bucks county. In 1 736, he became the pastor of the Neshaminy 
Presbyterian congregation, and died in 1746. He was an eminent 
classical scholar and founded the school, afterwards called the liOg- 
college. General Jacob Brown was born in Bucks county in 1776. 
About 1800, he settled in the north-western part of New York, 
M'here he became a brigadier-general of militia. On the breaking 
out of the war of 1812, the defence of that frontier devolved on 
him, and he defeated the enemy at Ogdensburg, and Sackctt's Har- 
bour. He afterwards commanded at the battle of Niagara, and the 
sortie of Fort Erie. He was a major-general at the close of the 
war, and, in 1821, was commander in chief of the army of the United 
States. He died in 1828. 

20. State some of the leading events in\ 21. Name seme of its noted citizens. 
the history of Bucks. 



FIRST CLASS MONTGOMERY. 



121 



MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 



\, L E H 1 (; h/ 1 
BERKS y^' ^ / ^^^ 




■•'■'■■ "- ^ 

>{> 

1 Norristown. 

2 Pottsgrove. 

3 Trappe. . 

4 Suniany Town. »• 

5 New Goshenhoppen. 

6 Lexington. 

7 "WiUowgrove. joqqt 


^ 





1 . Montgomery, a south-eastern county^ is bounded by 
Bucks on the N. E., Berks on the N. W., Chester and 
Delaware on the S. W., and Philadelphia on the S. E. Its 
area is 450 sq. m. 

2. It has no mountains. Its surface, especially in the 
northern part, is diversified by numerous hills of no great 
size. 

3. The chief streams are the Schuylkill river, with Per- 
ki-o'men, WiS'Sa-hick!on, and Man-at-aw'ny creeks, falling 
into it, and Pennypack into the Delaware. 

4. The Soil is very various. The great Chester county 
limestone valley extends into its south-western townships, 
constituting a fertile region. A large portion of the county 
is occupied by red shales and sandstones^ the former com- 
posing a soil of easy fertilization. The whole county is 
fit for tillage. 

5. The principal Minerals are limestone^ which is burned 
in great quantities for the supply of Philadelphia, and for 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Monlgomer)' ? 
2 Has it mountains or hills ? 



3. Which are the streams ? 

4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 



11 



122 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



agricultural purposes; various kinds of valuable marble; 
some iron and soapstone ; and formerly lead, copper, and 
zinc were found, but the mines are not now worked. 

6. It contains 30 townships, 2 boroughs, and a number of 
considerable villages. 

7. The Boroughs are JVorHstown, the county-seat, on 
the Schuylkill, with 2,937 inhabitants ; and Pottstown, also 
near the Schuylkill, with 727. The villages are Sumany- 
town,Trappe,NewGoshenhoppen, Lexington, and Willow- 
grove. 

8. The Public Improvements are the Philadelphia and 
Columbia railroad, in the north-west; Reading railroad 
and Schuylkill JYavigation, along the Schuylkill ; the Phil- 
adelphia and Norristown railroad ; with turnpikes passing 
through the county from Philadelphia to Bethlehem, Doyles- 
town, Reading, and Lancaster ; and a very large number 
of substantial stone and wooden bridges, in every part of 
the county. 

9. Ihe population in 1840 was 47,241, and the assessed 
value of property in 1845, $14,298,100. 

10. The first settlers were Swedes and Welsh, in the 
south-eastern part, and Germans in the north-western, 
where the German language is still spoken. 

11. The chief employments of the people are agriculture 
and manufactures. The soil has been very much improved 
by the application of lime ; and of late years, the addi- 
tion of a great variety of manufactures to their former pur- 
suits has largely increased their business and wealth. 

12. The Literary Institutions are 4 academies, several 
female seminaries, 5 libraries, and 67 com.mon schools. 
Education is prosperous in several of the townships. It 
contains many churches. 

13. Montgomery elects 3 members to the House of Rep- 
resentatives, and 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Dela- 
w^are, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the seventh judicial 
district. 



6. How many townsliips, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Which are the county-seat, bo- 
roughs, and villages ? 

8. The public improvements? 

9. What is the population and assessed 
properly ? 



10. Who settled the county ? 

11. AVhat are their employments and 
productions? 

12. The literary institutions? 

13. How many members are elected 
and which is the judicial district? 



FIRST CLASS MONTGOMERY. 123 

14. The Townships are, Ahington, Cheltenham, Douglas, Upper Dublin, 
Franconia, Frederick, Gwynedd, Upper Hanover, New Hanover, Haljieldy 
Horsham, Limerick, Marlborough, Upper Merion, Lotcer Merion, Montgo- 
mery, Moreland, Norriton, Pcrkiomen, Plymouth, Pottsgrovc, Lower Pro- 
vidence, Upper Providence, Lower Salford, Upper Salford, Sprincf^cld, 
Towamensing, Whitemarsh, Whi'pain, and Worreater. 

15. Norristown is a neat, thriving place. It took its name from 
Isaac Noiris, one of the first settlers of Philadelphia, and the pro- 
prietor of the ground on which it stands. It has grown up entirely 
since the Revolution. It was laid out in 1784, and incorporated as 
a borough in 1812. It contains a handsome court-house, county 
prison, 5 churches, a bank, an academy, and a public library, with 
a noble bridge over the Schuylkill. The Norristown railroad, con- 
necting it with Philadelphia, and the Reading railroad and Schuyl- 
kill canal passmg on the opposite side of the river, have latterly 
given an impulse to business and improvement, whose effects are 
already very visible. It is 16 miles N. W. of Philadelphia; 90 E. 
of Harrisburg; and 150 N. E. of Washington. 

16. Among the township names, those of Merion and Gwynedd, in 
the south, sufficiently indicate their Welsh origin, while Hanover, 
Franconia, and Frederick, in the north, tell of their German settle- 
ment. At Swedcsford near Norristown, the Swedish emigrants chiefly 
established themselves. All distinctions, however, of national 
habits and language are rapidly wearing away from among the de- 
scendants of the first settlers. In a few years these names will be 
their only mementos, in the same way that those of Perkiomen, 
Skippack, and Towamensing, are all that remain of the original Indian 
occupants of the soil. 

17. In the village of Trappe, which took its name from a tavern 
with high steps (called in German Treppe) which stood there in 
early times, is seen an ancient German Lutheran church, built in 
1743, by the Rev. H. M. Muhlenberg, the first minister of the Lutheran 
church in the United States. 

18. In the northern corner of the county, near New Goshenhop- 
pen, there is a settlement of Schwenckfeldters, a German reformed 
sect, who fled from persecution in Silesia in 1739. Three years 
after their departure, Frederick the Great of Prussia offered them 
strong inducements to return, having too late discovered the worth 
of those whom he had permitted to be driven into exile. But they 
preferred the freedom of their new home, and remained. 

19. Valley Forge is situated about 6 miles above Norristown on 
the west side of the Schuylkill, and on Valley Creek, near the Ches- 
ter county line. Here General Washington, with his almost naked 
army, remained in huts from December, 1 777, till June, 1 778 — the very 
darkest and gloomiest period of the Revolution. But from the glori- 
ous suflferings of Valley Forge, that army of patriots marched to 



14. Name the totvfiships ? 

15. Describe Norristoivn? 

16. What is said of ttie names of places 
in the county? 



17. 0/tlie TrajTf? 

1 8. Of Neiv Gvshenhoppen ? 

19. 6/VaUey Forge? 



124 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

the hard-fought field of Monmouth, showing that no privations can 
subdue those who contend in a good cause. 

20. Montgomery is growing in manufacturing prosperity, with great 
rapidity. It contains numerous furnaces, forges, rolling-mills, and 
a large establishment at Conshehocken, for making superior 
sheet-iron. There are also many cotton and woollen factories, pow- 
der and paper-mills, saw-mills, and oil-mills, with a great number of 
flour-mills. This prosperous state of things, which is only yet in its 
infancy, is caused by the enterprise of the people, and the advan- 
tageous position of the county on the leading lines of canal and 
railroad, which connect the coal and iron region of the state with 
its commercial metropolis. 

21. History. — Montgomery county, which derives its name from 
a county of the same name in Wales, and from the gallant Montgo- 
mery, who fell at Quebec in December, 1775, formed a part of Phila- 
delphia till 1784, when it was erected into a separate county. Pre- 
vious to the Revolution, it shared the prosperity of the mother 
county, having been saved from Indian outrages by the prudent 
conduct of the Friends, till the savages had retired far beyond its 
borders. During the revolutionary struggle, though not the scene 
of any great battle, it witnessed many of the marchings of the 
hostile troops, and many acts of individual adventure. After the 
battle of Brandy wine, on the 16th of September 1777 Washington 
crossed into Montgomery at Parker^ s Ford, in pursuit of the enemy, 
but they eluded him and marched to Philadelphia. About the end 
of September, he advanced from near Skippack creek to the attack 
upon Germantown, in Philadelphia county, which took place on the 
4th of October. There his well-laid plans were mainly defeated by 
the obstinate and unexpected defence of Chew's house. After the 
battle he returned to Skippack. It was during the winter following 
this active campaign that he lay with his army at Valley Forge. 
There is little doubt but that his bold occupation of that command- 
ing post, during that critical winter, caused the enemy to evacuate 
Philadelphia the following summer, and thus turned the tide of suc- 
cess in favour of freedom. Since the separate organization of 
Montgomery in 1784, its career has been marked by a quiet but 
regular succession of prosperity, which, however, presents [tw in- 
cidents of interest to persons at a distance. 

22. Noted Citize^vs. — Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the father of 
General Peter Muhlenberg of the revolutionary army, F. A. Muhlen- 
berg, speaker of the lower House of Congress, and of the Rev. H. E. 
Muhlenberg, a learned divine of Lancaster, was a native of Han- 
over in Germany. He was born in 1711, and came to this country 
in 1742, and was a learned, pious, and useful divine. He was the 
father of the Lutheran church in America. After establishing 
many congregations, he finally settled at the Trappe, where he died 
in 1787, aged 76. General Andrew Porter, a coJonel in the revolu- 
tionary army, who fought with great gallantry at Trenton, Prince- 

20. Of the manufactures of Montgo- 1 22. Name the most noted citizens, with 
vury ? their actions ? 

21. Repeat the chief ei-ents in its histetry ? \ 



FIRST CLASS LANCASTER . 



125 



ton, Brandywine, and other places, was a native of this county, 
where he was born in 1743. He died while surveyor-general of the 
state in 1813. David R. Porter, his son, lately governor of the state, 
is also a native of this county. Francis R. Shimk, the presen' 
governor of the commonwealth, is also a native of this county. 
He was born near the Trappe, in 1788, 



LANCASTER COUNTY. 



L E B A N 



E R K S 




1 Lancaster. 

2 Columbia. 

3 Manheim. 

4 Mountjoy. 

5 New HoHand- ~" 

6 Strasburtf. 

7 Elizabethtown. 

8 Bainbridge. 

9 Marietta. 

10 Washington. 
U Millcrstown. 
1 2 Litiz. 13 EphraUu 
U Rcamstown. 

15 Adaiustown. 

16 Churclitown. 

17 Lanipiter Square. 

18 Soudersburg. 

19 Loesburg. 



IK^ 



1. Lancaster, a south-easteni county, is hounded on the 
N. by Dauphin, Lebanon, and Berks, W. by York, S. by 
Maryland, and E. by Chester. Its area is 950 square miles. 

2. Its chief Mountains are, the hills of the South moun' 
tain on the north, called the Conewaga and the Berks Hills] 
the Welsh mountain, extending into the eastern part of the 
county from Chesterj and the Mine Ridge and Martic Hills, 
crossing its southern portion to the Susquehanna. None 
of them are very abrupt, or of great elevation. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna river, dividing 
it from York on the west, into which empty the Con-es-to' ga, 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I 2. 
and area of Lancaster ? | 3. 

11* 



Describe its mountains. 
Streams. 



126 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Pe-qu^a, Oc-to-ra'ro, Chi-ques-a-lun' go^ Con-o-win'gOy 
Con'oy, and Con-e-iod go* creeks, with their many tribu- 
taries. 

4» The Soil varies very much. The great Limest&ne 
valley or tract, extending from the hills of the South moun- 
tain to those of Martic, and from the Mine Ridge and 
Welsh mountain to the Susquehanna hills, and occupying 
fully one-half of the whole area of the county, is unsur- 
passed by any land in the state for natural fertility. South 
of this, the primitive slate land occurs. In its native state 
it is not productive, but judicious cultivation, with the free 
use of lime and clover, has converted it into a most flou- 
rishing agricultural region. Through this slate tract, and 
on the south of the Mine Ridge, the limestone of the Great 
Chester Valley extends in a narrow belt, half-way across 
the county, thus bringing the fertilizing material into the 
midst of the lands that most need it. In the northern part 
of the county, the red-shales and sand-stones that border the 
hills of the South mountain are also susceptible of great 
improvement. Nearly the whole of the county is capable 
of tillage. 

5. The most valuable Minerals are, limestone^ iron- 
ore^ roofing-slate, marble, chrome, and magnesia. Copper 
was formerly mined in the Mine Ridge. 

6. Lancaster contains 36 townships, 1 city, 6 boroughs, 
and many pleasant and thriving villages. 

7. The Towns are, Lancaster city, the county-seat, near 
the Conestoga, with a population of 8417 ; the boroughs 
of Columbia, with a population of 2719, Marietta, Eliza- 
hethtown, Strasburg, Washington, and Manheim, with from 
400 to 1000 inhabitants each ; and the villages of JYew 
Holland, Churchtown, Soudersburg, Georgetown, Lampiter 
Square, Leesburg, Texas, Millerstown, Bainbridge, LitiZy 
Ephrata, Reamstown, Adamstown, Concord, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are: The Philadelphia 
and Columbia railroad, crossing the county from east to 

* Conewago, pronounced Con-neh-ivau' go. 



4. Soil. 

5. What are its most valuable mine- 
rals? 

6. How many townships, cities, bo- 
roughs, and villages? 



7. Name the county-seat and the 
towns of the different kinds. 

8. What are the public improve- 
ments ? 



FIRST CLASS LANCASTER. 127 

west, the Lancaster and Harrisburg railroad, the Cones- 
toga navigation^ from Lancaster to the Susquehanna, where 
it unites with the Tide- water canal, the Pennsylvania canal, 
from Columbia to the northern and western parts of the 
state ; turnpikes from Lancaster to Philadelphia, Harrisburg, 
Columbia, and New Holland, with one crossing the north- 
ern part of the county from Lebanon, past Ephrata to 
Downingtown ; and a very large number of costly and 
substantial bridges, that at Columbia being the longest in 
the state. 

9. The whole Population, in 1840, was 84,203, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $27,561,973. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were Swiss and French Hugue- 
nots, who w^ere soon followed by lar^e numbers of German 
Mennonists^ both of whom settled in the central part of the 
county. Next came the Scotch-Irish, who established 
themselves in the north-west, and the Friends from about 
Philadelphia, who chiefly seated themselves in the eastern 
townships. Many Irish settled in the southern townships. 
The English is the prevailing language, but German is 
spoken by a large proportion of the population. 

11. The chief employment of the people is farming, 
their agricultural productions being greater in amount than 
those of any other county in the state. There are few 
manufactories yet, except those of iron, which are very 
numerous, Lancaster having been long noted for the num- 
ber of her furnaces and forges. There is also a very 
large number of flour-mills. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 3 academies, 3 fe- 
male seminaries, many private, and 253 common schools, 
with several libraries and literary associations. There are 
also 150 places of religious worship. 

13. Lancaster elects 5 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Lebanon, 2 to the Senate of the state, 
and 1 member of Congress ; and forms the second judicial 
district, havins: also an additional court, called the District 
Court. 



9. What is the population and property? 

10. By whom was it settled? 

11. Wh%t are their eraployraent and 
productions ? 



12. The literary institutions ? 

13. "What memhers does it elect, and 
what judicial district form? 



128 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



14. The Townships are, Bart, Brecknock, Caernarvon, E. Cocalico, 
W. Cocalico, Colerain, Conestoga, Conoy, E. Donegal, W. Donegal, Dro- 
more. Earl, E. Earl, Elizabeth, Ephrata, Fulton, E. Hempfield, W. Hemp- 
field, Harrison, E, Lampiter, W. Lampiter, Lancaster, Leacock, Upper 
Leacock, Little Britain, Manheiin, Manor, Martic, Mountjoy, Paradise, 
Penn, Rapho, Sadsbury, Salisbury, Sirasburg, and Warivick. 

15. The town of Lancaster, which, with the county, takes its name 
from the City of Lancaster in England, was laid out by Andrew 
Hamilton, the proprietor of the ground, in 1730. A person, of the 
name of George Gibson, then kept a tavern, with the sign of the 
Hickory Tree, near the present centre of the city. In 1734, it became 
the seat of justice of the county. In 1 742, it was first chartered as a 
borough. In 1754, it contained 2000 inhabitants. In 1759, barracks 
for 500 men were erected in it by the government. In 1763, the 
Manor Indians were killed at Lancaster work-hou se, by thePaxton Boys. 
In 1777, the ancient corporation was re-established by act of Assembly. 
During the Revolutionary war, many British prisoners were confined 
in Lancaster, on account of its inland position and the known devo- 
tion of its citizens to the cause of independence. On the 27th of 
September, 1777, Congress met in Lancaster, and next day adjourned 
to York. During the same struggle, its celebrated gunsmiths fur- 
nished many muskets for the army. In 1794, the turnpike to Phila- 
delphia was made. In 1799, it became the seat of state government. 
In 1800, the population was 4292. In 1812, the seat of government 
was removed to Harrisburg. In 1818, it was incorporated as a city. 
In 1829, the Conestoga navigation, and in 1834, the State railroad were 
completed. In 1837, it was supplied with water from the Conestoga. 
In 1838, the common school system was adopted. 

16. It is a plain, substantially built town, with streets laid out at 
right angles, containing a court-house, jail, county-offices, and a 
market-house, neither of them elegant or convenient, 12 churches, an 
academy, female seminary, mechanics' institute and library, a num- 
ber of elegant common-school houses, 3 banks, 1 savings institution, 
a large cotton-factory, and several iron-founderies. It is noted for the 
manufacture of rifles, axes, combs, thrashing-machines, and car- 
riages. It is 36 miles S. E. of Harrisburg, 62 W. of Philadelphia, 
240 E. of Pittsburg, and 100 N. E. of Washington. 

17. Long before the turnpike to Philadelphia was constructed or 
thought of, there were two leading roads from that city into Lan- 
caster county : the " old continental road," as it was called, passing 
direct to the town of Lancaster, and thence to the Susquehanna; 
and the "old king's highway," laid out in 1733, now called the 
West Chester road, and passing through that town and Strasburg. 
The last-named, when originally laid out, led to " Postlethwaite's," 
the first county-seat, 5 miles S. of Lancastei-, near which was " Cones- 
toga town," an Indian settlement, where so many treaties and con- 
ferences took place between the colonial authorities and the Indians. 

18. In 1784, a line of stage-coaches to carry passengers between 
Philadelphia and Lancaster was established on the West Chester 

14. Name the townships. I 17. What roads first led into the county ? 

15. Repeat the hiitory of Lancaster city. I 18. What is said of stage and railroad 

16. Describe it- \ travelling? 



FIRST CLASS LANCASTER. 129 

road. It made the trip regularly in three days, and was thought to 
be a great convenience. Now a person may leave Lancaster at 
4 o'clock in the afternoon, spend three hours in Philadelphia, and be 
back in Lancaster by 5 o'clock next morning. So great is the 
change efTected by the power of steam in a few years. 

19. Other changes have also been effected by the same agency. 
A very large proportion of the taverns, which used to be necessary 
along the public roads to accommodate the numerous travellers who 
passed in carriages or on horseback, and the long line of " Cones- 
toga" wagons, have disappeared. The passengers and the goods 
are now carried on the railroad. This is a great benefit to society, 
though the roads may seem lonely to those who delighted in the 
noble teams and well-appointed wagons, with their cheerful bells 
and the clear sound of the driver's whip. 

20. Some of the older towns have lost much of their business from 
this cause, while others have sprung into sudden existence along 
the lines of railroad and canal. But the change, if properly im- 
proved, need not prove a lasting injury. The borough of Strasburg 
is an instance. Most of its taverns have been discontinued, it is 
true, but in their stead respectable seminaries of learning, of differ- 
ent grades and for both sexes, are established. Thus, not only are 
the morals and the intellects of the rising generation improved, but 
even the business of the place is to a great extent sustained, though 
in a different manner. The same gratifying change has occurred, 
but to a greater extent, in West Chester. 

21. Many of the old towns of Lancaster county have interesting 
legends connected with their earlier history. 

22. The village of Ephrata, in the north-western part, was com- 
menced about the year 1730, by a religious society called '^Seventh- 
day Baptists" Though a reformed sect, they, to a certain extent, 
adopted the monastic mode of life, having separate buildings or 
cloisters for each sex. Some of these ancient structures still re- 
main, and present a very singular and interesting appearance. 
They are divided into a great number of small apartments or cells, 
and on the outside are entirely covered with shingles. The society 
early established a paper-mill and a printing-press, and published 
many German books and pamphlets. They were decided Whigs 
during the Revolution, and, after the battle of Brandywine, con- 
verted one of their buildings into an hospital, for 500 of the wounded 
soldiers, of whom near 200 died, and were buried in the vicinity. 
A monument is now in the progress of erection over the graves of 
these patriots. 

23. Litiz, 8 miles north of Lancaster is a Moravian settlement, 
noted for its schools, its neatness, and its good order. It was laid 
out in 1757. The population is about 400. The town belongs to 
the Moravian society, and is governed according to their own regu- 
lations. The society's buildings are plain and substantial. Itcon- 

19. Wiat change have railways and ca^ I 21. Wnat is said of the older towns ? 
rials effected ? 22. What is said of Ephrata ? 

20. What other change? 23. Of Litiz? 



130 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

tains a female seminary, long known as a useful and successful 
institution, and a boys' academy, more recently established, but 
equally flourishing. 

24. Manheim is a quiet old place, 1 1 miles north-west from Lan- 
caster, with 400 inhabitants. It was founded in 1761, by Henry 
William Steigel, a wealthy German nobleman, who was connected 
with the early iron works of the county. He erected an extensive 
glass factory in his new town, which has long since disappeared. 

25. Strasburg and New Holland were both commenced about the 
year 1730, by Germans. They are quiet pleasant towns, each con- 
taining about 700 inhabitants, and three churches. 

26. Cfmrchtotvn, in the extreme north-eastern part of the county, 
was originally a Welsh settlement, commenced about 1725. From 
this circumstance the Welsh mountain obtained its name. 

27. Moimtjoy, a thriving town 12 miles north-west of Lancaster, 
on the railroad and turnpike to Harrisburg, is of recent growth. It 
was laid out in 1812. Its advantageous position, and the richness 
of the surrounding country, have caused it to increase rapidly. It 
contains two churches. In the vicinity is Dodge's female semi- 
nary, a well-known institution. 

28. Columbia, 10 miles west of Lancaster, on the Susquehanna, is 
the second town for size and business in the county. Its position 
on the river, the southern line of turnpike, the 1-ailroad from Phila- 
delphia to Baltimore, and the Susquehanna canals, confers great 
advantages. Accordingly, its growth has been steady and rapid. 
Its population is now 2719. It contains seven places of worship, 
and a town hall, and is supplied with running water in pipes. It 
was first called Wright's ferry, and was laid out by Samuel Wright, 
in 1788. The first settlement was made in 1728, by members of 
the Society of Friends from Chester county. It was incorporated 
as a borough in 1814. 

29. Marietta, on the Susquehanna, 3 miles above Columbia, was 
long known as Anderson's ferry. It was erected into a borough by 
its present name in 1812, and increased rapidly during the specu- 
lating times of that period. It has since ceased to grow, but has 
still a considerable trade in lumber, coal, and other articles floated 
down the river, and on the canal which passes through it. 

30. The great majority of the people of Lancaster county, are 
engaged in agriculture, or the smaller manufactures and mechanical 
occupations connected with it. It has long been noted for the great 
amount and excellence of its grain of all kinds, for its comfortable 
and substantial buildings, for the skill of its farmers, and the su- 
perior quality of their horses and cattle. 

31. During many years, it possessed the less enviable fame of 
containing more distilleries for making whisky than any other coun- 
ty; but latterly, this branch of business has very greatly decreased. 



24. Of Manheim? 

25. Of Strasburg and Neic-HoUand ? 

26. Of Churchtown ? 

27. Of Moimtjoy? 

28. Of Columbia? 



29. Of Marietta? 

30. What has the county been long noted 
for? 

31. What about distilleries ? 



FIRST CLASS LANCASTER. 131 

32. The chief manufactories of the county, besides her 270 flour- 
mills, are those connected with iron, for which she has long been cele- 
brated. They consist of large numbers of furnaces, forges, rolling- 
mills, foundries, tilt hammers, and sickle-factories. In addition to 
which there are numerous small woollen and other factories, a large 
number of saw-mills, and tanneries, and the extensive Lancaster 
cotton factory recently erected. 

33. About half a mile east of the city, is situated the house for 
the employment and support of the poor of Lancaster county. It is 
a very extensive building, and during the winter usually contains 
near 300 inmates. Attached to it are hospitals for the sick and 
insane. This useful establishment is situated on a farm of 235 
acres, the produce of which goes to its support, the balance neces- 
sary for that purpose being paid by the county treasury. The law 
for its establishment was passed in 1798, and the main building 
erected soon after. 

34. History. — The county seems to have been chiefly occupied 
by th,e Conestoga Indians, who had their head town near the Susque- 
hanna, on the creek of the same name ; but many other tribes fre- 
quented it as a hunting-ground. The first permanent settlement in 
the bounds of the present county, was probably made by some Sunss 
emigrants who arrived about 1709, on the Pequea, near the present 
village of Paradise. From 1717 till 1723, large bodies of German 
Mennonists and other sects followed, together with many Scotch-Irish. 
These last fixed themselves mostly in the north-west part. About 
1725, a body of Welsh emigrants seated themselves near Church- 
town. In 1728, a number of English Friends from Chester county, 
established themselves on the banks of the Susquehanna, at what is 
now Columbia. The Scotch-Irish of the southern townships settled 
at a later day. In 1729, the county was separately o»-ga«izc(/, deriv- 
ing its name from Lancaster in England, and being the first county 
formed after the three original counties erected in 1682. Before 
that time it formed part of Chester, and when first organized, includ- 
ing all the parts of the province lying to the west and north-west. 
The first temporary jail and court-house were built at Postlethwaites\ 
about 5 miles south-west of the present city of Lancaster. In 1734, 
Lancaster became the county seat. In 1736, a violent contest took 
place between the authorities of Lancaster and those of Maryland, 
about the southern boundary. About 1740, the German Lutherans 
began to settle in the county. In 1742, the celebrated Moravian, 
Count Zinzindorf, visited it. In 1749, ForA; was taken off Lancaster, 
Cumberland in 1750, and Berks in 1752. About 1760, the more ad- 
vanced settlers were very much harassed by the Indians. In June, 
1768, the county was visited by a dreadful hail-storra. In July, 
1774, a meeting of the freemen of the county was held in Lancaster, 
at which strong resolutions in favour of the rights of the colonies 
were adopted, and money collected to aid the citizens of Boston. In 
December of the same year, a committee of safety of 60 persons was 
chosen by general vote of the freemen of the county, and from this 

32. What are its chief manufactories? I 34. State the leading events in tlu history 

33. WJiat is said of the poor-house ? | of the county, vnlh their dates. 



132 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

time it efficiently supported the cause of independence; several 
regiments were raised among its citizens, and fought bravel}\ None 
of the battles of the Revolution occurred in the county, but during 
the gloomy winter of 1777-8, while Washington was encamped at 
Valley Forge, General Wayne, with his forces, many of whom were 
citizens of Lancaster, lay in Mountjoy township, where they suf- 
fered almost equal hardships. During the winter of 1780-1, called 
the " hard winter," the frost penetrated from four to five feet into 
the ground, and the ears of the cattle were frozen. In 1785, Dau- 
phin was taken off Lancaster. In 1790, the population of the county 
was 30,179. In 1813, Lebanon was formed into a separate county, 
and Lancaster reduced to its present size, since which time nothing 
peculiar has occurred in its annals. Its progress has been one of 
great but noiseless prosperity. 

35. Noted Citizens. — George JRoss, one of the signers of the De- 
claration of Independence, was a respectable lawyer, born at New 
Castle, Del. in 1730, settled in Lancaster in 1761, and died in 1779. 
Gen. John Gibson, a brave soldier of the French and Revolutionary 
wars, was born at Lancaster in 1740, and died in the western country 
in 1822. He was the person to whom, in 1774, Logan delivered his 
celebrated speech, of which Gen. Gibson's translation has been 
spread over America and Europe. Edward Hand, a skilful physi- 
cian and a brave general, during the whole Revolutionary war, was 
born in Ireland in 1744, and settled in Lancaster in 1774, where 
he died in 1802. Gen. Henry Miller was an active and gallant officer 
in the Revolutionary army, having been in most of the important 
battles fought in this and the neighbouring states. He was also a 
general in the war of 1812. He was born in the present city of Lan- 
caster in 1741, and died at Carlisle in 1824. Jasper Yeates was born 
in Philadelphia in 1745, and settled in Lancaster in 1764. In 1791 
he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the state, and 
died at Lancaster in 1817. Henry Ernest Muhlenberg, an eminent 
clergymen of the Lutheran denomination, a distinguished botanist, 
and the author of several botanical works, was born in Montgomery 
county in 1753, but settled in Lancaster in 1780, where he died 
in 1815. David Ramsay, the American historian, was born in Dro- 
more township, in this county, in 1749, and died in South Carolina 
in 1815. Sanmel Stanhope Smith, D. D., president of the Princeton 
college, an eminent scholar and divine, was born in Salisbury 
township in 1760, and died in 1819. William Henry, father of Judge 
John Joseph Henry author of the Campaign against Quebec under 
Montgomery and Arnold, was a citizen of Lancaster. It was he, 
who, about 1776, in conjunction with John H. Ranch, of Wa.rwLCk 
township, invented the Screw-auger. Wm. Henry was a man of 
a strong mechanical turn of mind, and J. H. Ranch was an inge- 
nious blacksmith. The first screw-auger ever made is said to be 
still in existence in the neighbourhood of Litiz. Dr. Benjamin S. 
Barton, the successor of Dr. Rush, as professor of the practice of 
medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of vari- 

35. Name the most noted citizens. 



FIRST CLASS YORK. 



133 



ous works, was born in Lancaster in 1766, and died in 1815. His 
elder brother William, author of several works of merit, was also 
born and died at the same place. Robert FuUou, the first who suc- 
cessfully applied steam to the purposes of navif<ation, was born in 
the township since called Fulton, in honour of him, in 1765, and 
died in 1815. Symon Snyder, p^overnor of the state from 1808 till 
1817, was born in the town of Lancaster in 1759, and died in Unif)n 
county in 1819. John Eberlc, BlIi eminent physician, medical writer, 
and linguist, was born in Manor township in 1789, and died at Lex- 
ington, Ky., in 1838. 



YOEK COUNTY. 




1. York, a south-eastern county, is bounded E. by 
Lancaster and Dauphin, N. by Cumberland, W. by 
Adams, and S. by Maryland. Area 925 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are the South mountain^ between it 
and Cumberland. The hills are the Con-e-wa'go in the 
north, the Pigeon in the west, and the Slate hills in the 
south. 

3. The Streams are the Susquehanna river, dividing it 
from Lancaster and Dauphin ; and the Yellow-breeches 
creek forming its northern boundary, the Conewago in the 



1. "What are the class, boundaries, I 2. Name the mountains and hills. 
and area of York ? | 3. The streams. 

12 



134 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



north, the Co-do' rus and little Conewaga in the middle, and 
Muddy creek in the south, all falling into the Susquehanna. 

4. The Soil consists of about one-fifth liinestorie, the 
remainder is slate, gravel, and red shale. Nearly the 
•whole may ultimately be made productive. 

5. The chief Minerals are iron, limestone, and slate. 

6. It contains 28 townships, 6 boroughs, and many 
considerable villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, York, the seat of justice, on the 
Co-do'rus, with a population of 4,779 ; Hanover, Shrews- 
bury, Wrightsville, and JYew Holland: the principal vil- 
lages are Mechanicsbiirg, York- Haven, Liverpool, Dover, 
Dillshurg, .Kewhxiry, and Peach-bottom. 

8. The Public Improvements are the Susquehanna and 
Tide-water canal, from Wrightsville to the Maryland line, 
the Co-do' rus JVavigation, from York to the Susquehanna, 
the Columbia, York, and Baltimore railway through. York ; 
and turnpikes from York to Lancaster, Harrisburg, Gettys- 
burg, and Baltimore, with a number of bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 47,010 ; and the 
assessed value of property in 1845 was $9,310,100. 

10. The first settlers were English, Germans, and Scotch- 
Irish. The Germans now prevail, as does the German 
language, in a considerable portion of the county. 

1 1 . Their chief pursuit is agriculture, but there are many 
iron-works, distilleries, and tanneries. 

12. The Productions are large qualities of grain, live 
stock, whisky, iron, and some tobacco. 

13. The Literary Institutions are an academy and 
county lyceum, several private, and 110 common schools. 
There are about 50 churches in the county. 

14. York elects 3 members to the House of Represen- 
tatives, and 1 to the Senate of the state ; and with Adams 
1 member of Congress. It forms, with Adams, the nine- 
teenth judicial district. 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages ? ^ ' 

8. The public improvements ? 



9. What is the population and assessed 
property of York ? 

10. Who settled it? 

11. What are their pursuits? 

12. Their productions ? 

13. Their literary institutions ? 

14. How many momb re are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 



FIRST CLASS — YORK. 



135 



15. Tlie Townships are, Carrol, Chanceford, Lower Chanccford, Code- 
rus, North Codorus, Conetvago, Dover, Fairvicw, Fawn, Franklin, Heidel- 
berg, Hellam, Hopewell, Manchester, West Manchester, Manhcim, Monag- 
han, Newberry, Paradise, Peach-bottom, Shrewsbury, Springgarden, Spring' 
field, Warrington, Washington, Windsor, Lower Windsor, and York. 

16. York is a neat, substantially built, and wealthy town. It 
contains an elegant and spacious new court-house, a jail, academy, 
10 churches, a bank, and a savings' institution, nearly all of brick. 
It is supplied with running water from a hill on the south, and has 
four newspapers and several common schools. It is a place of 
considerable business, being connected with Philadelphia, Balti- 
more, and the neighbouring towns by railway, canal, and turnpike. 
It was laid out in 1741, and incorporated in 1807, taking its name 
from the city of York in England. It is 24 miles S. of Harrisburg, 
83 W. of Philadelphia, and 48 N. of Baltimore. 

17. A short distance east of York, the large county poor-house 
and hospital are situated- 
IB. Hanover, with a population of 1070, is 18 miles south-west of 

York. It is on the turnpike from Carlisle to Baltimore and the road 
from York to Fredericktown. It is a quiet, wealthy place, with two 
churches and two newspapers. 

19: Wrightsville is on the west bank of the Susquehanna, opposite 
Columbia, with which it is connected by a long bridge. Here com- 
mences the Susquehanna and Tide-water canal, and here, also, the 
railroad leading to Baltimore connects with the Pennsylvania rail- 
way. It is a pleasantly located and improving town, with 672 in- 
habitants. 

20. York-Haven is on the Susquehanna at the foot of the Conewago 
falls or rapids, to avoid which a canal of a mile in length was con- 
structed some years ago. Extensive mills were erected on the water- 
power thus created, but the place has not succeeded to the extent 
that was expected. 

21. The limestone portion of York is chiefly a continuation of 
the Lancaster valley, and occupies the central part of the county. 
It runs into Adams, but grows narrower as it approaches that 
county. It is remarkably fertile, well watered, densely settled, and 
highly improved. 

22. Both on the north and south of the limestone region, the soil 
is thin and uneven. Except in York and Hopewell townships, it is 
not yet highly cultivated ; but is susceptible of great improvement, 
particularly the red shale of the north, and the slate land of the south. 

23. York county contains five furnaces and three forges ; and 
possesses great advantages for the manufacture of iron, in its ore 
banks and extensive forests for the formation of charcoal. 

24. Excellent slates for roofing are procured in the south-eastern 
part of the county; and the valuable red sandstone of the north-east 
is extensively sought after for architectural purposes. 



15. Name the toivnships. 

16. Describe York. 

17. Where is the poor-house ' 

18. Describe Hanover. 

19. Wrightsville. 



20. York-Haven. 

21. What is said of the limeftone region, ' 

22. What of the other portions ? 

23. What of iron works ? 

24. Of slate and sandstone? 



136 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

25. In the southern part of the county is an extensive tract of 
land called the " York barrens." It is not really sterile, but the 
want of trees has given it this forbidding name. Many parts of it 
are now in the course of being reclaimed, and under judicious cul- 
tivation yield good crops. 

26. History. — Previous to its settlement by the whites, York 
was chiefly occupied by the Susquehanna or Delaware Indians. 
About 1716, some Maryland squatters established themselves in its 
southern part, but they were driven oif bythe provincial authorities 
in 1728. The regular settlement of the county was commenced in 
1729. The Indian title was finally extinguished in 1736. The first 
settlers were English, Germans, and Irish. For some years they 
were disturbed by the conflicting territorial claims of Pennsylva- 
nia and Maryland. The sheriff" of liancaster, to which York then 
belonged, in 1736, met and defeated Captain Thomas Cresap, (pro- 
bably a progenitor of him who afterwards murdered Logan's family, 
near Wheeling.) This Cresap was sheriff' of Baltimore count}^ 
and was at the head of a large force. He was taken prisoner and 
lodged in Philadelphia jail. In 1737, these conflicts were terminated 
by an order of the king in council, for settling the disputed boun- 
daries. In 1749, York, including Adams, was formed into a separate 
county, taking its name from Yorkshire in England. In 1777, the 
Continental Congress, when it adjourned from Philadelphia, met in 
the old court-house of York, after a short stay in Lancaster. Dur- 
ing its session there, Philip Livingston, one of the members, died, 
and was buried in the grave-yard of the German Reformed Church. 
In 1800, York was reduced to its present size by the erection of 
Adams. Since that event, little of interest has transpired in its 
history. 

27. Noted Citizens. — Col. James Smith, by birth an Irishman, 
but a citizen of York, was one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. He was the writer of the able " Address to the asso- 
ciators of Pennsylvania," published by the Provincial Conference on 
the 25th of June, 1776. He was a sound lawyer and an unflinching 
patriot. He was born about 1720, and died at York in 1806. Gene- 
ral Ja7nes Ewing was born in Lancaster county in 1736, but settled 
early in York. He was a lieutenant in Braddock's expedition. He 
served with distinction, through the whole Revolution, and rose to 
the rank of Brigadier-general. He died in York county, in 1806. 
Thomas Campbell, a captain in the Revolutionary army, and a gallant 
officer, was also a citizen of York. General John Clark was born 
in York county in 1751. He served with distinction in the Revolu- 
tionary army, was an aid-de-camp to General Greene, and possessed 
the confidence of General Washington. William Lenhart, a pro- 
found mathematician, was a native of the borough of York. Chris- 
tian Gobrecht, an eminent engraver and die-sinker of Philadelphia, 
was born at Hanover. 



25. Of the York barrens ? 1 27. Name the noted citizens, and the acts 

26. Btpeat the chief events in the history \for which each became distinguished, 
of York. I 



FIRST CLASS — ADAMS COUNTY. 



137 



ADAMS COUNTY. 




1. Adams, a south-eastern county, is hounded E. by York, 
N. by Cumberland, W. by Franklin, and S. by Maryland. 
Area 530 square miles. 

2. The South Mountain separates it from Cumberland 
and Franklin. The rest of its surface is uneven, being tra- 
versed by several ridges of trap rock. 

3. It has no large Rivers. Rock, Marsh, and Middle 
creeks, the head waters of the Mon-od a-cy flow southward 
into Maryland ; Latimore, Bermudian, and O-pos'sum. the 
sources of the Con-e-wa'go, run eastward into York. 

4. The Soil is various. In the south-east part, adjoin- 
ing York and near the South mountain, there is limestone y 
and of course fertile land. Of the remainder, the greater 
part is red-shale and trap, both easily fertilized by lime. 
The whole of the county, except the portion occupied by 
the South mountain, is tillable. 

5. The CHIEF Minerals are, limestone, extensively used 
as a manure ; iron, which is worked to some extent, and 
some copper. Potomac marble also occurs. 

6. Adams contains 18 townships, 2 boroughs, and nu- 
merous villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Gettysburg, the seat of justice, 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Adams ? 

2. Its mountains? 
;?. Pt roams? 

4. Soil? 



12^ 



5. Chief minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 



138 STATE- BOOK O^ PENNSYLVANIA. 

with 1908 inhabitants, and Berwick or .8hhottstown ; and 
the villages are Petersburg, Berlin, Littlestown, Oxford, 
Fairfield, and Caslitown. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the unfinished 
Gettysburg Extension railroad, designed to connect the 
Columbia with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad ; turu' 
pikes to Chambersburg, Carlisle, York, and Baltimore ; 
and many substantial bridges. 

9. The Population in 1840 was 23,044, and in 1845 
the assessed value of property was $4,339,531. 

10. The first settlers were Scotch-Irish, but more re- 
cently the German race have increased. Their pursuits 
are agricultural. 

11. The Productions are, all kinds of grain and cattle, 
and some iron. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, Pennsylvania 
College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary, both near, 
and an academy and female seminary in Gettysburg, and 
85 common schools in the whole county. 

13. Adams elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Franklin, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with York, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the nineteenth 
judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Berwick, Conewago, Cumberland, Franklin^ 
Freedom, Germany, Hamilton, Hamiltonban, Huntingdon, Latimore, Liberty, 
Menallen, Mountjoy, Mount Pleasant, Reading, Straban, Tyrone, and 
Union. 

15. Gettysburg, so named from the first proprietor of the ground, 
is a quiet, neat town. It was incorporated in 1806, has the usual 
county-buildings, with seven churches, and is supplied with running 
water. Pennsylvania college and the liUtheran seminary are large 
and beautiful edifices. Near it, on the north, is a county poor-house. 
It has long been noted for the manufacture of carriages, and the 
branches of industry connected with that business. It is 114 miles 
W. of Philadelphia, 36 S, of Harrisburg, and 52 N. W. of Balti- 
more. 

1 6. Its retired position, cheap living, and moral population render 
it an eligible place for the education of youth. Hence its literary 
institutions are in a most flourishing condition, and are yearly add- 
ing to their number of students. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What is the population and assessed 
property ? 

10. Who were the first settlers ? 

11. What are the productions? 

12. The literary institutions ? 



13. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 

14. Name the tototiships. 

15. Describe Gettysburg. 

16. What is said of its literary institu^ 
turns? 



FIRST CLASS ADAMS COUNTY. 139 

17. Petersburg is a pleasant town, 13 miles N. E. of Gettysburg. 
It contains about 250 inhabitants, with a church and an academy. 

18. Near Petersburg are the York springs, an agreeable summer 
retreat, long frequented by many who have derived great benefit 
from the pure air and healing waters of the place. Sulphur is their 
chief mineral ingredient. 

19. Adams is chiefly an agricultural county, and in no part of 
the state is the judicious use of lime adding more to the wealth of 
the farmer. Tracts of land that heretofore scarcely repaid the 
labour of tillage, are now as flourishing and productive as any part 
of the state. 

20. History. — While Adams formed part of Lancaster, little re- 
markable occurred in its early annals. The South mountain and 
the more advanced Conecocheague settlement, in Franklin, seem, 
in a great degree, to have protected it from the ravages of the West- 
ern Indians. Its first settlers were Scotch-Irish, Avho took up their 
residence about 1740. They bore with them their usual love of 
learning, one of the first classical schools in the interior of the state 
having been established by them, in the Marsh Creek settlement. 
In 1749, York, including Adams, was separated from Lancaster. 
From this time till the end of the century, a want of similarity of 
language and habits between the Germans of the eastern, and the 
Scotch-Irish of the western part of the county, produced a feeling 
which finally led to the formation of Adams into a separate county 
in 1800. It took its name from the elder President Adams. It is 
somewhat remarkable that the quiet tide of German enterprise has 
since carried that class of citizens so largely over the line of 
division, that at the present time their language is the common 
tongue of many parts of the county which was oi'ganized to exclude 
them. 

21. Noted Citizexs. — Captain Nicholas Bittingcr, of Adams, who 
died in 1804, aged 78, was amongst the first to take up arms in the 
Revolution. He was made prisoner while fighting gallantly at Fort 
Washington, and endured a tedious captivity and much hardship. 
Captain David Wilson, also a brave soldier of the Revolution, was 
born in this county in 1752, and was recently living near the place 
of his birth. William Paxton, D. D., was born in Lancaster county 
in 1760. In company with his father, he was at Trenton with Gen. 
Washington on the night of January 2, 1777. He afterwards studied 
divinity, and became pastor of Lower Marsh Creek church (the 
first established in Adams county) in 1792. He continued in the 
exercise of the ministry at Marsh Creek till 1841, when the infirmi- 
ties of age obliged him to retire. He died in 1845, and was a man 
of great eloquence and clearness of mind. 

17. 0/ Petersburg ? I 20. Detail the events of tfu history of 

\%. Of the York springs ? \ Adatns, ivith their dates. 

19 0/ Lime. \ 21. Natne the noted citizens. 



140 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



SECOND CLASS. 



NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 




N. JERSEY 



1 Easton. 

2 Bethlehem. 

3 Nazareth. 

4 Richmond. 

5 Williamsburg. 

6 Cherry ville. 
1 Wind Gap. 

8 Water Gap. 



1. Northampton, a Cumberland Valley county, is 
bounded E. by New Jersey, N. by Monroe and Carbon, 
W. by Lehigh, and S. by Bucks. Its area is 370 square 
miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the Kittatinny, or Blue moun- 
tain, on the north, and the South mountain on the south, 
forming the barriers of the Cumberland Valley. 

3. The Streams are, the Delaware river on the east, 
separating it from New Jersey, and the Lehigh on the west, 
from Lehigh county. Bushkill and Martin's creeks fall into 
the former, and Saucon^ Mon-oda-cy, and Hodden-dock 
into the latter. 

4. The Soil is that which is common to the Cumberland 
Valley counties. Among the primary hills of the South 
mountain, with the exception of a few small valleys, it is 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Northampton ? 

2. The mountams ? 



3. Streams? 

4. Describe the soil. 



SECOND CLASS NORTHAMPTON. 



141 



not fertile. Next occurs the broad belt of fertile lime- 
stone land, constituting the richest portion of the valley. 
Beyond this, an extensive tract of slate land, which is of 
easy fertilization by proper culture, extends to the Kitta- 
tinny. The whole of the county, except the small por- 
tion occupied by the Kittatinny and South mountain, is 
productive. 

5. The Minerals are, limestone, iron-ore, slates, and 
hydraulic cement. 

6. Northampton contains 15 townships, 3 boroughs, and 
many considerable villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Easton, the county-seat, at the 
confluence of the Lehigh with the Delaware, with 4865 
inhabitants, Bethlehem and South Easton. The villages 
are, JVazareth, Richmond, Willianishurg , Cherryville, fyc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Delaware divi- 
sion of the state canal, from tide-water on the Delaware at 
Bristol to Easton, where it connects with the Lehigh Navi- 
gation, which follows the last-named stream into the coal 
region. At Easton, also, the Morris canal commences, 
leading across New Jersey to New York. There are a 
number of turnpikes in the county, one of which runs from 
Easton northward, through the Wind Gap, and several 
large bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 34,000, and the 
assessed value oi property, in 1845, $12,005,718. 

10. The earliest settlers were the Scotch- Irish ; they 
were soon followed by Moravians, and other German sects. 
The German population and language now prevail. 

11. The main occupation of the people is agriculture, 
but iron-works and other manufactures, with the trans- 
portation of coal and lumber, are carried on to some 
extent. 

12. Their Productions, such as all kinds of grain, beef, 
pork, and mutton, find a ready market in Philadelphia and 
the coal region. 



5. What are the minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages . 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 



9. What is the population and assessed 
property ? 

10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are their occupations? 

12. Tiie productions? 



142 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, La Fayette college, 
a number of academies and seminaries, and 144 common 
schools. Education is in a tolerably prosperous state. 

14. Northampton, with Monroe, elects 3 members to the 
House of Representatives, and with Lehigh, 1 to the 
Senate of the state ; and with Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and 
Wayne, 1 member of Congress. It is in the third judicial 
district. 

15. The Townships are, Jlllen, E. Allen, Bethlehem, Eushkill, Forks, 
Hanover, Lehigh, Moore, Upper Mount Bethel, Lower Mount Bethel, Upper 
Nazareth, Lower Nazareth, Plainfeld, Saucon and Williams. 

16. Easton, which seems to have been so designated on account 
of its eastern position in the province, was, in the early records, 
called the " Forks of the Delaware," the Delaware and Lehigh there 
uniting. It was a favourite seat of the Delaware Indians. It seems 
to have been laid out in 1738, but did not receive many inhabitants 
till 1752, when the county was organized. Several councils with the 
Indians were held here, and treaties ma,de between the last named 
year and 1761, in which the celebrated Delaware chief, Teedyuscund 
participated. It was here that he compelled the Six Nations to ac- 
knowledge the independence of his tribe. Easton was erected into 
a borough in 1789. It is one of the most pleasant and thriving 
towns in Pennsylvania ; its position on the Delaware and Lehigh, 
with their canals, and in the rich Cumberland Valley, conferring 
advantages not often equalled. It has an ancient court-house, a 
county jail and offices, an academy, bank, insurance office, 
6 churches, a public libraiy, and a cabinet of minerals. In the 
town, or its immediate vicinity, there are also a large number of 
flour-mills, with oil and saw-mills. It is supplied with water in 
pipes from a spring about a mile distant, and has bridges over the 
Delaware, Lehigh, and Bushkill. It is 56 miles N. of Philadelphia, 
105 N. E. of Harrisburg, and 310 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. South Easton is a busy manufacturing place, with about 
700 inhabitants, on the opposite side of the Lehigh, about 1 mile 
above Easton. It has a cotton, a rifle, and a wire factory, a furnace 
and foundery, with several flour and saw-mills, all propelled by 
water-power from the Lehigh canal. 

18. La Fayette College, a manual labour institution, in which the 
students are enabled by light labour to pay for a portion, or the 
whole of their own support and instruction, is on a hill near the 
town, north of Bushkill creek. The main building is a noble edifice, 
and the institution is in a flourishing condition. 

19. Bethlehem, a large Moravian town on the Lehigh, 11 miles 
above Easton, was founded in 1740. It is now the chief settlement 
of the United Brethren, or Moravians, in the United States, and con- 



13. The literary institutions ? I 16. What is said of Easton ? 

14. What members are elected, and I 17. Of South Easton ? 
which judicial district is it in? 18. Of La Fayette College? 

15. Name the townships. \ 19. Of Bethlehem? 



SECOND CLASS — NORTHAMPTON. 143 

tains 1622 inhabitants. It is noted for its neatness, good order, and 
the excellence of its boarding-schools for both sexes. 

20. Nazareth, 10 miles north of Bethlehem, another Moravian 
town, also contains a flourishing academy for boys, managed by the 
society. This town was first commenced by the celebrated George 
Whitfield in 1 739. He commenced a building, yet standing, which he 
intended as a school for African children ; but before it was finished, 
he disposed of it to Coxmt Zinzindorf, who completed the edifice. 

21. At Gnadenthal, near Nazareth, the county poor-house is esta- 
blished. 

22. About two miles south of the Water Gap is an extensive slate 
quarry and manufactory. Besides a vast quantity of roofing slate, 
a large number of schvol-slafcs are here prepared and framed by 
means of ingenious machinery. 

23. The Bdaware Walcr Gap, the Wind Gap, and the Lehigh Wafer 
Gap, three remarkable passes in the Kittatinny mountain, all de- 
serve the notice of travellers. Few combinations of mountain and 
river scenery present greater attractions to the admirer of the grand 
and beautiful, than the pass in the Kittatinny through which the 
Delaware seems to have burst its way. The Wind Gap, about mid- 
way between the two Water Gaps, is not traversed by any stream. 
It is merely a remarkable depression of the Kittatinny, almost to 
the level of the adjoining plain, and as such has become the point 
to which the leading roads of the vicinity tend for a passage through 
the mountain. 

24. History. — Immediately after the noted "walking-purchase" 
of 1733, Northampton, then a part of Bucks, began to be settled by 
Scotch-Irish. They long bore the brunt of defending the frontier 
against the Indians. In 1740, the Moravians established themselves 
at Bethlehem, and succeeded Whitfield at Nazareth. The Lutheran 
and other German settlers came in at a later date. The county was 
erected in 1752 by the name of Northampton, after a county of the 
same name in England. Braddock's defeat in 1755 reduced this 
frontier settlement to great straits, and exposed it to the merciless 
barbarities of the Indians. During the Revolutionary war, it ex- 
perienced more than the ordinary vicissitudes of that trying time, 
being directly on the termination of the war-path from the north, by 
which the Indians were in the habit of descending on the lower set- 
tlements. Soon after the close of the Revolution, the original Scotch- 
Irish settlers began to move farther westward and northward, and 
Northampton rapidly filled Math German citizens. In 1798, Wayne 
was separated from it. In 1799, Fries' rebellion disturbed this and 
the adjoining counties. In 1812, Lehigh, and in 1835 Monroe, were 
taken off, and in 1843, Northampton was reduced to its present size 
by the organization of Carbon county. 

25. Noted Citizens. — George Wolf, governor of the slate from 
1829 till 1835, was born in Northampton county in 1777, and died 
in 1840. He was distinguished for his unwavering advocacy of the 

20. Of Nazareth? I 23. Of the gaps in the Kittatinny? 

21. Wliere is the poor-house? I 2'1. Repeat tlie history of the county. 
22 What is said of slates ? \ 25. Name the noted men. 



144 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



common school system. David BrainerH, the celebrated Indian mis- 
sionary, visited tliis and other parts of the state a number of times. 
About 1745, he built a cabin at Mount Bethel. He was a native of 
Connecticut, where he was born in 1718, and died in Massachusetts 
in 1747. Count Zinzindorf, the early protector and subsequently 
the leader of the Moravians, also visited the missionary stations of 
that society, in Northampton, a number of times betM^een 1741 and' 
1743. He was born in Europe in 1700, where he died in 1760. 
Even before these attempts to convert the Indians, the celebrated 
G'eor£;e Whi'ficld had been at the " Forks of the Delaware." As early 
as 1739 he commenced his building at Nazareth. He was born in 
England in 1714, and died in 1770, in Massachusetts. 



LEHIGH COUNTY. 




1. Lehigh, a Cumberland Valley county, is bounded N. E. 
by Northampton, N. W. by Carbon and Schuylkill, S. W. 
by Berks, and S. E. by Bucks, .^rea 350 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the Kittatinny mountain on the 
north, and the South mountain, here called the Lehigh 
hills J on the south. 

3. The Streams are, the Lehigh river, and its tributaries 
Saucon, Little Lehigh, Jordan, Copley, and Trout creeks, 
with the head waters of Maiden creek, which flows west- 
ward throup:h Berks to the Schuylldll. 

4. The Soil is the usual rich limestone and slate land 



1. What are tlie class, boundaries, I 3. Streams? 
and area of Lehigh? I 4. Soil? 

2. Its mountains ? 



SECOND CLASS LKHIOH. 145 



of the Cumberland Valley ; that of the mountain is sterile. 
All the rest is tillable. 

5. The chief Minerals are abundance of liraestone and 
iron-orey roofing slate^ some hydraulic cement, and cop- 
peras. 

6. Lehigh contains 13 townships , 1 borough, and se- 
veral pleasant villages. 

7. The Borough of Allf^ntown, the county-seat, is on 
the Lehigh, and contains 2493 inhalntants. The villages 
are Ei/ihjia-us, Alillerstown, Foglesville/rrexlerslown^Frey- 
hiirg, Saegersville, and Lynnville. 

8. The Public Lmpuovkmknts are the Lehigh Naviga- 
tion, along the river, leading from Easton into the anthra- 
cite coal region, and turnpikes horn Allentown to Reading, 
and Easton, with several large bridges. 

9. The population, in 1840, was 25,787, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was -'$8,367,110. 

10. The First Settlers were Scotch-Irish, but they 
were soon followed by large numbers of Germans, who 
now form the great bulk of the population. 

11. Their chief Occupation is farming, though there are 
several extensive iron works, and some smaller manufac- 
tories. The German language is chiefly spoken. 

12. Their main Productions are grain, cattle, pork, 
and iron, with some other articles. 

13. The Literary Institutions are not numerous. 
They are an academy, 82 common, and several private 
schools. 

14. Lehigh, with Carbon, elects 2 members to the House 
of Re])rc.;tntauves, with Northampton 1 to the Senate of 
the state, and with Bucks, 1 member of Congress, and is 
in the third judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Hanover, Heidelberg, Lowhill, Lynn, Upper 
Matungie, Lower Macungie, Upper Milford, Northampton, Salisbury, Upper 
Suucon, U'eisenberg, N. Whitehall, and .S'. IVhitehall. 

16. Allkntown, formerly called the borough of Northampton, is 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, and the vil- 
lages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. AVho settled Lehigh? 

11. What are their employments^ 

12. Their productions? 

1.3. The literary institutions? 

14. How many members are elected? 
What is the judicial district? 

15. Name the tovmships. 



13 



1^6 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



beautifully situated on an eminence near the river Lehigh. It is a 
well built, prosperous, and remarkably healthy town, with 2493 in- 
habitants. It contains a spacious court-house and county prison, 
6 churches, an academy, 2 libraries, a bank, and the buildings of a 
homoeopathic medical college. It is supplied with pure water from 
a spring in the vicinity. There are also several mills, a foundery, 
a large and substantial stone bridge over Jordan creek, and one of 
wood across the Lehigh, near the town. It was laid out before the 
Revolution, by William Mien, chief justice of the province, from 
whom it derives its name. It was incorporated in 1811, and is 55 
miles N. of Philadelphia, 87 N. E. of Harrisburg, and 290 E. of 
Pittsburg. 

17. Emmaus is a small Moravian village at the foot of the 
South mountain, about 5 miles south-west of Allentown. 

18. The Lehigh Water-Gap, at the point where the river has made 
its way through the Kittatinny, forms a scene singularly grand and 
beautiful. The mountain, on either hand of the traveller as he 
passes the gap, rises a thousand feet. It is very steep, yet covered 
with trees from the summit to the level of the river. After beholding, 
from the plain, the regular chain of the Kittatinny, which stretches 
away to the east and to the west, in a straight line, and then ex- 
amining the sudden gap in its huge wall through which the river 
peacefully flows, it is impossible not to attribute the chasm to the 
agency of water; or to prevent the mind from endeavouring to 
realize the power and state of the element when it burst the rocky 
barrier. 

19. Lehigh is not only one of the richest agricultural counties 
for its size, in the state, but bids fair still to increase its wealth 
by means of manufactories. The beds of superior iron-ore, which 
are chiefly met among the hills of the South mountain, the water 
power, the cheap and constant supply of anthracite coal delivered 
along its whole eastern border by the Lehigh Navigation, and 
the ready access to market, present elements for the application 
of capital and industry not often surpassed. 

20. History. — Lehigh, so called from the river which separates 
it from Northampton, is written Lecha in German, which probably 
comes nearer the true pronunciation of the Indian name of the river 
than its English orthography. The county formed part of North- 
ampton till 1812, when it was separately organized. It pre- 
viously shared the fortunes, and was embraced in the history of the 
mother county. During the years 1798 and 1799, the present 
county of Lehigh, together with parts of Berks, Northampton, and 
Bucks, was the scene of an opposition to the laws of the United 
States, called " Frifs' rebellion J' The popular feeling was roused 
against paying a diiect tax called " the house tax.*' The officers 
of the government appointed to collect it were opposed and driven 
off. Fries, the leader, was tried for treason and sentenced to be 
hung, but was subsequently pardoned by the President. Others 



Ifi. Describe Allentown. I 19. The resovrces of Lehigh. 

17. Emmaus. 20. Repeat its history, with dates. 

is. The Lehigh Water-Gap. | 



SECOND CLASS BERKS. 



147 



were fined and imprisoned, after wliich order was again restored. 
The improvement of the Lehigh, by the Navigation Company, was 
commenced in 1818. That event has added greatly to the pros- 
perity of tlie county. In January, 1841, the company's works were 
almost destroyed by an ice flood, but have since been reconstructed. 



BERKS COUNTY. 




iReadin?. "''" '^ ^SMW'^r(l!l 

2 Wonielsdorf. ^^ \. 

3 Sinking Spring. nJ* > 
, 4 Bemville. 8 Mcrtztown. •^*. M 

5 Rehrersburg. 9 Pricetown. X> I** (•" 

6 Hamburg. 10 Unionville. ^ I rSiyj 
n Kutztown. 11 Morgantowu. Coneido^ 



1. Berks, a Cumberland Valley county, is bounded on 
the S. E. by Chester and Montgomery, N. E. by Lehigh, 
N. W. by Schuylkill, and S. W. by Lancaster and Le- 
banon. Area 920 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the Kittathmy or Blue mountain, 
in the N., and the South mountain in the S., the latter 
being broken into many irregular hills. 

3. The Streams are the Schuylkill river, crossing the 
county near its centre from north to south, with its tribu- 
tary creeks. Maiden^ Man-at-aw'ny^ Tul-pe-hoc'ken, Little 
Swa-ta'raj JYorth Kill, and other small streams. 

4. The Soil is various. The fertile limestone valley be- 
tween the two mountain ranges, composes one-third of 



]. What are the class, boundaries, 
aiul area of Berks? 
'2. W'ljich are its mountains? 



3. Its streams? 

4. Describe its soil. 



148 



STATE-BOOK OP PENNSYLVANIA. 



the county. The shale land and of the South mountain 
is highly favourable for cultivation ; and the slate land 
bordering on the Kittatinny is susceptible of easy im- 
provement. The whole county, except the mountainous 
portion, will be ultimately rendered productive. 

5. The most valuable Minerals are iron-ore, limestone, 
and some hydraulic lime. 

6. Berks has 36 Townships, 4 boroughs, and many 
thriving villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Reading, the seat of justice, on 
the Schuylkill, with 8410 inhabitants ; Womelsdorf, Kutz- 
town, and Hamburg; and the villages are, Morgantown, 
Rehrersburg, Mertztown, Stoicchburg, Bernville, Pricetown, 
and Unionville. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the SchuylJdll ca- 
nal and Reading railroad, both connecting Reading with 
Philadelphia and Pottsville, and the Union canal from 
Reading to the Susquehanna. There are also turnpikes 
from Reading to Philadelphia, Pottsville, Harrisburg, &c., 
and numerous bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 64,569. Assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was |19,874,816. 

10. The first settlers were mostly German, as are the 
present population and language. Their main employ- 
ment is agriculture, though manufactures have latterly 
much increased. 

11. Their Productions are such as are common to a 
rich farming district. Grain of all kinds is raised in 
abundance. Mdi^y iron furnaces, forges, and rolling-mills, 
Avith a larsje number of grain-mills and distilleries, are 
among their means of wealth. 

12. The Literary Institutions are neither numerous 
nor flourishing. They are 3 academies, 1 female seminary, 
a number of private, and 47 common schools. 

13. Berks elects 4 members to the House of Represen- 



5. Name its minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages? 

8. The public improvements. 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. By whom was Berks settled? 

11. What are the productions? 

12. The literary institutions? 

13. How many members are clcctcl, 
and what is the judicial district? 



SECOND CLASS BERKS. 149 



tatives, and 1 to the Senate of the state, and 1 member of 
Congress; and is in the third judicial district. 

14. The Townships of Berks are, Mbuny, Jlhacc, Jlinitrj, Bern^ 
Upper Bern, Bethel, Brecknock, Caernarvon, Centre, Colebrookdalc, Cuviru, 
District, Douglas, Earl, Exeter, Greenwicti, Upper Heidelberg, Lower Hei' 
delberg, N, Heidelberg, Hereford, Lotigstramp, Maidencreck, Marion-, 31ax- 
atawny, OU'y, Fenn, Pike, Richmond, Robeson, Rockland, Ruscombmanoi; 
Tidpehockcn, Upper Tulpehocketv, Union, Washington, Windsor. 

15. RKAi)ixG,ata very early day, reached the fvili size of an ordinary 
county town, and then for many years remained nearly stationary. 
But the few past sea ons have produced much improvement. It is 
delightfully seated on the Schuylkill, in a pleasant plain at the foot 
of Penn's mount, from the top of which there is a noble prospect. 
It is regularly laid out according to Penn's S3'^ste2n of right angles, 
and is remarkable for smooth, hard, clean streets. The gravel Avith 
which they are covered is from the adjoining mountain, where it is 
found in a state nearly ready for use. The tov/n is noted for its 
high steeples and elegant court-house. It has the other usual 
county buildings, 12 churches, 2 banks, and 2 market-houses; and 
is supplied with pure running water, and has seven newspapers, of 
which three are German. There are a number of manufactories of 
iron, such as nail, and rolling-mills, founderies, steam-engine, gun- 
barrel, and auger factories ; also grain and saw-mills, with esta- 
blishments for making agricultural implements, and man}' other 
articles, all driven by steam. It was formerly noted for the manu- 
facture of wool-hats, shoes, and stone-wai'e, which is still carried on 
to some extent. The town was laid out by the Penns in 1748, and 
took its name from the city of Reading, in Berkshire, England. 
During the Revolution many of the citizens of Philadelphia re- 
treated thither. It was incorporated as a borough in 1783; and is 
52 miles N. W. from Philadelphia, and the same distance E. from 
Harrisburg. 

16. Three miles S. of Reading is the large county poor-house, with 
a farm of 480 acres, which at one time belonged to Gov. Mifflin. 

17. Woniehdorf is a pleasant town on the turnpike, 14 miles W. 
of Reading, with 849 inhabitants. It is in a rich agricultural 
region near the Tulpehocken creek. 

18. Kulztovm is 17 miles E. of Reading, on the Manatawny. It 
contains 693 inhabitants, and two churches. 

19. Hamburg is on the Schuylkill, 15 miles N. of Reading. It 
contains 500 inhabitants, and has a bridge across the river. 

20. Sinking Spring, near the Harrisburg turnpike, 5 miles E. of 
Reading, is something of a natural curiosit}'. The water here rises 
and disappears again in the same basin. The Dragon^s Cave, in 
Richmond township, has one chamber 50 feet long, 20 wide, and 20 
high. It is in the limestone rock. 



14. Name the townships. | 18. OfKutztown? 
1;5. mat i:i said of Reading? W. Of Haynburg? 

16. Is there a poor-house'^ S'O. Of Sinking Spring and Dragon's 

17. What is said of Wotnelsdorf? \ Caeel 

13* 



150 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

21. Berks has many advantages of position, that nrnst ere long 
vastly increase its population and prosperity. The canal and rail- 
road which connect the commercial capital of the state with the 
anthracite coal region traverse its whole length. Thus not only 
has it a cheap and ready means for the transportation of its rich 
produce to the seaboard, but the prospect of an increasing and more 
certain market among the dense and busy population that must 
soon cover the coal counties on the north. In addition to this, the 
establishment of various manufactures in the county will be the 
effect of its vicinity to coal, its abundance of iron, and other local 
inducements. 

22. History. — The settlement of Berks was commenced about 
1734, by Germans, principally of the Lutheran and German Re- 
formed denominations. After Reading was laid out in 1748, and 
the county organized in 1752, the population increased rapidly. 
Berks was formed out of parts of Philadelphia, Chester, and Lan- 
caster, and at first included portions of the present counties of 
Northumberland and Schuylkill. The former was taken off in 
1772. The county derived its name from Berkshire, (written 
Berks,) in England. For many years the inhabitants were kept in 
alarm by the Indians, but this altogether ceased after General Sulli- 
van's expedition against the northern Indians in 1779. During the 
Revolutionary Avar, though the county w^as never the scene of hos- 
tilities, it sent many of its sons forth in the common cause; since 
that period little of interest has happened. In 1811, a portion of its 
territory was included in the county of Schuylkill then formed. 

23. Noted Citizens — Conrad Weiser was chief interpreter and 
agent of the province among the Six Nations of Indians. He was 
born in Germany in 1696, and emigrated in 1713, and finally settled 
near Womelsdorf. On many occasions he was of the greatest ser- 
vice to the province, by his influence with the Indians. The Rev. 
H. A. Muhlenberg, late minister to Austria, v/as the son of the Rev. 
H. E. Muhlenberg of Lancaster, and of a daughter of C. Weiser. 
Joseph Heisler was born in Berks in 1752. He entered the Revolu- 
tionary army young ; was in the battle of Long Island; a prisoner 
in the prison ship Jersey; as soon as exchanged, again in the ser- 
vice of his country, and at the battles of Germantown and Brandy- 
wine ; after the peace, was long a member of the state legislature 
and of Congress ; and finally elected governor of the state, and 
died in 1832. Colonel Thomas Hartley was born in Berks in 1748, 
but early settled in York. He served with distinction in the Revo- 
lution. He was long a member of Congress ; and died in York in 
1800. Three of the governors of the Commonwealth were natives 
of Berks : Joseph Heister, J. A. Shulze, and Joseph Eitner, 

21. What advantages does Berks pos- [ 22. What is its history ? 
sess? 1 23. Who were the most noted citizeiis ? 



SECOND CLASS LEBANON. 



151 



LEBANON COUNTY. 




1. Lebanon, a Cvmberland Valley county, is bounded 
on the N. E. by Berks and Schuylkill, on the N. W. and 
W. by Dauphin, and on the S. by Lancaster. Area 300 
square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the Kittatinny on the nortli, and 
the South mountain^ called the Conewago hills, on the south. 

3. The Streams are, the Swa-ta'ra with its branches, 
Little Swataraj Quit-a-pa~hil' la^ and Indian creek, dis- 
charging into the Susquehanna, and the Tul-pe-hockfeny 
into the Schuylkill. 

4. The Soil is chiefly the productive limestone and slate 
land of Cumberland Valley. The soil of the mountains 
north and south is sterile, but the proportion is not large. 

5. The Minerals are abundance of limestone and con- 
siderable quantities of iron-ore, the latter being met of a 
superior quality in the edge of the South mountain. 

6. Lebanon contains 12 townships, 1 borough, and a 
number of villages. 

7. The Borough of Lebanon, the county-seat, is situ- 
ated near the Quitapahilla, and contains 1860 inhabitants; 
the villages are Jonestown, Myerstown, Camphellstown, 
Palmyra, Millerstown, Shaefferstown, JSTew Lebanon, Sac. 



1. AVhat are tlie class, boiuularies 
and area of Lebanon? 

2. \Vhal are the mountains? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil ? 



5. IVIinerals? 

6. I Sow many townships, borouglis, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the coun;y-seat and the vil- 
lages. 



152 



STATE-BOOK OF. PENNSYLVANIA. 



8. The Public Improvements are, the Union canal, which 
passes near the town of Lebanon, connecting the Schuyl- 
kill with the Susquehanna. It has a branch extending to 
Pinegrove, in Schuylkill county. There is a turnpike from 
Reading to Harrisburg, through Lebanon ; and another 
through the southern part of the county, from Hummels- 
tow^n in Dauphin, to Downingstown in Chester. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 21,872, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $7,237,563. 

10. The earliest settlers of Lebanon, in common with 
most other parts of Cumberland Valley, were Scotch- Irish, 
These have latterly been almost wholly displaced by Ger- 
mans. The German language is generally spoken. 

11. The chie^ employment of the people is agriculture, 
though some are engaged in iron-works and in transporta- 
tion on the Union canal. 

12. Their main Productions are all the kinds of grain, 
cattle, and other articles, usually found in a rich agricul- 
tural district ; and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are few. They are an^ 
academy and female seminary, and 38 common, with several 
private schools. There are over 20 churches in the county. 

14. Lebanon elects one member to the House of Rep- 
resentatives, and, with Lancaster, 2 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Dauphin and Schuylkill, 1 member of Con- 
gress ; and is in the twelfth judicial district. 

1 5. The Townships are, N. Anville, S. Anville, Bethel, E. Hanover, Hei- 
delberg, Jackson, N. Lehaiwn, S. Lebanon, Londonderry, Millcreek, Swatara, 
and Union. 

16. Lebanon is a pleasant town, and being on the Union canal, 
and the seat of justice of an extremely rich, though small county, 
possesses considerable business. The buildings are generally of 
brick and stone. It contains a spacious court-house, a jail, a market- 
house, an academy, a public library, a bank, and 6 churches. It 
was laid out about the year 1750, by a person of the name of 
Steitze, from whom, for man)^ years, it was called Sleitze's town. It 
was incorporated in 1821, taking the present name from the town- 
ship in which it is situated. It is 25 miles E. of Harrisburg, 28 W. 
of Reading, 80 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 227 E. of Pittsburg. . 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Lebanon ? 

11. AVhat is their chief employment? 

12. The productions ? 



13. The literary institutions ? 

14. How many members are elected' 
What judicial district is it in? 

15. Ncnne the toivnships. 
10. Desrribe Lebanon. 



SECOND CLASS LEBANON. 153 

17. Near Shacfferstown, a large village, 8 miles south-east of 
Lebanon, are the ruins of a castle built by Baron S'eii^cl, a German 
nobleman, who earl}- established glass and iron-works in Lancaster 
county, and was connected with some iron- works in Lebanon. 
His usual residence was in Philadelphia, but he was in the habit of 
passing some of his time at this castle, living in great style, accord- 
ing to the forms of the European nobility. But the practice does 
not suit our country. His property passed into other hands, and he 
became the manager of one of Colemans iron-works. 

18. Jo7ic$toivn is a considerable village, with 3 churches. It is 
7 miles north-west from Lebanon. 

19. Myerstown, 7 miles east of Lebanon, is also a large village 
with a Lutheran church. 

20. The Union canal is the chief work in the county. It is so 
called from having been constructed by a company composed of the 
vnion of two, that had been incorporated to connect the Susquehanna 
with the Delaware. The first move towards it was made in 1791, 
Robert Morris, David Rittenhouse, and others, being commissioners. 
After many attempts, the work was commenced in 1831, and com- 
pleted in 1828, being the first considerable canal in the state. The 
most remarkable part is the " summit level," which is over 6 miles 
in length. This section passes through limestone rock so full of 
fissures and caverns, that none of the ordinary expedients were suffi- 
cient to cause it to retain water. The company were therefore com- 
pelled to line the whole with plank, so that it is now in reality an 
immense wooden trough, more than 6 miles long. It is chielly sup- 
plied with water pumped by steam and water power from the Swa- 
tara. At one point the canal passes through a tunnel 729 feet in 
length, which was the first of any size excavated in the Union. 

21. History. — Previous to its erection into a separate county, 
Lebanon formed parts of Lancaster and Dauphin, and its history 
was included m theirs. It was first settled by Scotch-Irish, who 
were followed into its southern portions, by the German Mennonists, 
about 1732. From that time till the Revolution, the Moravians, 
Lutherans, and German Reformed sects, entered the county in con- 
siderable numbers. During the Revolution, Lebanon sent many of 
its citizens to fight the battles of Independence. After the battle of 
Trenton, in December, 1776, many of the Hessian prisoners were 
confined in the old Lutheran and Moravian churches, in the present 
town of Lebanon. Since the close of the Revolutionary war, the 
early Scotch-Irish settlers have been almost Avholly succeeded by 
the German population. In 1813 the county was erected, taking its 
name from the township of Lebanon, formerly in Dauphin, and one 
of the principal townships embraced within the new county, which 
was, no doubt, so named from the Lebanon of the Old Testament. 

22. Noted Citizens. — John Andrew Shulze, governor of the state 
from 1823 to 1829, was a citizen of this county for many years pre- 
vious to his election to that office, and represented it in both houses 
of the state legislature. 



17. Wknt is near Shatfferstoton? I 20. 0/ the Unio7i canal and summit levell 

18. What is said of Jonestown? 21. Detail the history of Lebanoti. 

19. Of Myerstown? \ 22. Wiat governor resided there? 



154 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



DAUPHIN COUNTY. 



LAW- 




HarrisburK. 

2 Middletown. 

3 Highspire. 
i Hummelstown. 

5 Coxestown. 

6 Linglestown. 

7 Dauphin. 

8 Halifax. 

9 Millersburg. 
10 Gratztown. 

Wiconisco. 
•g. 12 Duncan's Isl'd. 

O 



40°i5'N 



LANCASTER 

aster BB- 



1. Dauphin, partly in Cumberland Valley and partly in 
the anthracite region, is bounded E. by Lebanon and 
Schuylkill, N, by Northumberland, W. by Perry, Cum- 
berland, and York, and S. by Lancaster. Its area is 
530 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, on the south of Cumberland 
Valley, the South mountain, called the Conewago Hills ; on 
the north of it, the Kittatinny ; proceeding northward along 
the Susquehanna, Second, Third, Peter^s, Berry''s, and 
Ma-han-ton' go* mountains are met ; and in the north-east- 
ern part, in addition to these. Short and Broad mountains 
are situated. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna river, along the 
whole western line, into which flow Swa-ta'ra,\ Paxton, 
Fishing, Stony, darkens, PowelPs, Armstrong's, and Wi- 



* Maharitongo pronounced Blau-hon-ton' go. 



t Swatara — Swet-tar'ra 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Dauphin? 



The mountains ? 
Streams ? 



SECOND CLASS DAUPHIN. 



155 



con-i^co creeks, with Con-e-wa'go, forming the southern, 
and Ma- h an- ton' go the northern boundary. 

4. The Soil is of every quality, from the most fertile to 
barren. The southern portion, crossed by the Cumberland 
limestone valley, is equal to any in the state. North of 
this, and bordering the Kittatinny, a belt of less fertile slate 
land occurs. The high and abrupt ranges of mountains, 
next in succession, are valuable for nothing except the 
coal and other minerals imbedded in them, and the timber 
with which they are clothed. But between them are many 
pleasant and kindly red-shale valleys, particularly that of 
Lykens, at the extreme north. About two-thirds of the 
county is tillable. 

5. The Minerals are, great abundance of limestone in 
the south, and anthracite coal in the north, the upper part 
of Dauphin properly belonging to the anthracite class of 
counties. There is also some iron-ore. 

6. This county contains 19 townships ^ 4 boroughs, and 
many growing vilfages. 

7. Harrisburg borough, the county-seat and capital of 
the state, is on the Susquehanna, and has a population of 
5980. The other boroughs are, Middletown, Hummelstown, 
and Dauphin. The villages are, Portsmouth, Highspire, 
Linglestown, Halifax, Miller shurg, Gratztown, Wiconisco, 
Berryshurg, and Coxestown. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the State canal from 
Middletown, where it is joined by the Union canal to Dun- 
can's island, whence it extends westward up the Juniata ; 
the Wiconisco canal, not yet completed, from Duncan's 
island to Millersburg, where it unites with the Lykens 
Valley railroad, leading to the coal region of that name ; 
the Lancaster railroad, uniting at Harrisburg with the 
Cumberland Valley railroad ; turnpikes from Harrisburg to 
Lancaster, Columbia, York, Duncan's island, and Leba- 
non ; and many large bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 30,118, and the 



assessed value of property, in 1845, 



,,197,491. 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs and 
villages? 



7. Name the seat of justice, other bo- 
roughs and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What is the population and pro- 
perty? 



156 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



10. The earlier settlers were Scotch-Irish^ but latterly 
large numbers of Germans have succeeded them. By the 
latter, the German language is generally spoken. 

11. The main employment of the people is farmings 
though many are engaged in mining coal, and some in 
iron-works. The productions consequently are grain of 
all kinds, and some cattle, coal, and iron. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, an academy, 
female seminary, an orphan institute, and 133 common 
schools, with several private schools and seminaries. 

13. Dauphin elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Northumberland, 1 to the Senate of 
the state ; with Lebanon and Schuylkill, 1 member of 
Congress ; and is in the twelfth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Derry, Halifax, E. Hanm^er, W. Hanover, 
S. Hanover, Jackson, Jefferson, Londonderry, Lykens, Mifflin, Upper Pax- 
ton. Lower Paxton, Middle Paxton, Rush, Susquehanna, Swatara, Lower 
Swatara, Washington, and Wiconisco. 

15. Harhisburg, the seat of government of Pennsylvania, is de- 
lightfully situated on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna. Behind 
it runs the Paxton, or (as the Indians pronounced it) the Paxtang 
creek. The front street, or rather the front row of houses of the 
town, faces the river, and enjoys one of the most beautiful prospects 
in the state, during the spring and early summer. The broad river, 
studded with richly wooded islands, enlivened by numerous rafts 
and arks, and spanned by noble bridges, leading to the fertile lands 
of Cumberland county, with the Kittatinny and the hills of the South 
mountain in the distance, altogether presents a scene of remarkable 
attraction. 

1 6. Harrisburg, previously called Harris's Ferry, and subsequently 
for a short time Lovisburg, as being the county-seat of Dauphin, so 
named from Louis, the Dauphin of France, was laid out and became 
the county-seat in 1785. John Harris, from whom it takes the pre- 
sent name, was the owner of the ground on which it is built. It 
was incorporated as a borough in 1808, and became the seat of go- 
vernment in 1812. It is 100 miles W. of Philadelphia, 200 E. of 
Pittsburg, and 110 N. of Washington. 

17. As the seat of justice of Dauphin, it contains the usual 
county-buildings, among which, the Dauphin county prison, lately 
erected on the solitary confinement and labour principle, is a credit 
both to the taste and the humanity of the citizens. It also contains 
1 1 churches, a market-house, a bank, a savings institution, and an 



10. By whom was it sealed? 

11. What are their employment and 



productions? 

12. Literary inslilutions? 

13. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 



14. Name the townships. 

15. What is said of the situation of Har- 
burg? 

16. What of its name and history? 

17. What of its county-buildings and 
other structures ? 



SECOND CLASS — DAUPHIN. 157 



extensive anthracite iron furnace, and is abundantly supplied with 
water raised by steam from the river. It recently had two noble 
bridges over the Susquehanna. Of these the upper or old bridge 
was constructed by Burr, the celebrated bridge builder, in 1817, at 
a cost of over $190,000. The greater part of it was carried away 
by the great freshet of March, 1846, tlie lower or railroad bridge 
having been consumed by fire a year before. But the usual facili- 
ties for crossing the river will unquestionably soon be restored to a 
point so important as Harrisburg. 

18. The State Capitol forms the most striking object in Harrisburg. 
It is placed on a gentle elevation in the north-east part of the town. 
The main building is of brick, 180 feet long and 80 wide, two stories 
in height, with a circular portico in front, supported by six Ionic 
columns, and surmounted by a dome. The central portion of the 
lower story is occupied by a large rotunda and the stairway ; on the 
north side of the rotunda is the Senate Chamber, and on the south 
the Hall of the House of Representatives. The second story is oc- 
cupied by rooms for the committees of both branches of the legisla- 
ture, with the State Library, Supreme Court room, and Canal Com- 
missioners' otfice. 

19. The building faces the west, with the town and the river in 
front. The view from the dome is rarely equalled for richness, 
variety, and beauty. 

20. On each side of the capitol is a smaller building, but uniform 
in design. The one to the north contains the Executive or Gover- 
nor's chamber, the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the 
State Treasury, and the Auditor-General's office. That on the south 
is occupied by the offices of the Surveyor-General and of the Board 
of Property. The three buildings stand in a large enclosure, planted 
with trees, laid out in gravelled walks, and enclosed with a wall and 
paling. 

21. Immediately south of the enclosure of the capitol is situated 
one of the three state Arsenals, in which the public arms are pre- 
served. The other two are at Philadelphia and Meadville. 

22. About two miles south-east of Harrisburg is the county Poor- 
House, on a large farm, on which there is also a mill. 

23. Midfiktown, so called from its midway position between lian- 
caster and Carlisle, contains 756 inhabitants. It was laid out in 
1785 by George Fisher, and is on the turnpike from Lancaster to 
Harrisburg. The part of it called Portsmouth, lying more immedi- 
ately on the Swatara and Susquehanna, is the place of junction of 
the Union with the State canal. Between the two towns stands the 
Em'ma-us Orphan institute, founded by the will of George Ever- 
hart, called Frey, who was long a citizen of Middletown, and died 
about 1808. It is endowed with a large property, and is capable of 
being made of great benefit to the community. 

24. Hummelstown is 8 miles E. of Harrisburg, and is a quiet place 



IS. Describe the state capitol. 

19. What of the dome? 

20. What of the other state buildings ? 

21. Wli.atofthe state arsenal? 

14 



22. The poor-house? 

23. Describe Middletown. 

24. Hummelstovxn. 



158 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



with 480 inhabitants. Within a mile of it, near the Swatara, is a 
cave in the limestone rock of considerable extent. 

25. The point on the Susquehanna, called Duncanh Island, or 
Clark's ferry, is remarkable in many respects. The mountain and 
river scenery of the vicinity is wild and beautiful. The Juniata and 
Susquehanna here meet, presenting in the boating season, even be<- 
fore the public works were constructed, a busy and interesting 
scene. But now that the state canals along the Susquehanna and 
Juniata are in operation, and the Wiconisco canal certain of being 
completed, there are few points at which so many of the elements 
of the prosperity of the state are presented at a single glance. 
Down the Susquehanna are seen gliding, either on her broad bosom 
or on the canal along her margin, the lumber, the anthracite 
coal, and the other valuable articles found on her head waters. 
Along with these are the grain, the bituminous coal, and the lumber 
of the West Branch. The Juniata, with the celebrated iron that bears 
her name, the bituminous coal of the Great Alleghenj^ and the agri- 
cultural produce of her own banks, pours out the rich produce of 
the western counties and states; while the Wiconisco canal will 
add the valuable coal of Lykens valley. On the other hand, hun- 
dreds of boats freighted with merchandise for the north and the 
west may be seen ascending the canals to supply the farmers, the 
lumbermen, the miners, and the iron-men along their banks. It is 
while contemplating a scene like this that the Pennsylvanian learns 
to confide in the internal resources of his native state, and to disre- 
gard what is called the diversion of her business into other routes. 

26. The part of Dauphin county called Lykens valley, is one of 
the most interesting regions in the state. It is a broad red-shale 
valley enclosed between Berry's and Mahantongo mountains, and 
extending back from the river to the Schuylkill county line, except 
where the Short or Bear mountain, containing the Lykens valley 
coal, juts into it from the east, terminating about 12 miles from the 
river. The soil is the thin, lively, easily worked red-shale land, which 
is so susceptible of improvement by means of lime. The houses 
and barns of the inhabitants show, both by their number and com- 
fortable appearance, that the land has fallen into the right hands; 
while the coal region to the east offers a certain and increasing 
market for all the farmer can raise. 

27. Andrew Lykens, from whom the valley takes its name, was the 
first settler. He resided at the place now called Oakdale forge. 
He and his son were famous hunters, and long a terror to the In- 
dians, against all whose attacks they manfully held their ground. 

28. Coal was discovered in this region in 1825, by Thomas Elder 
of Harrisburg, son of the Rev. John Elder, formerly of Paxton. Un- 
der his direction and that of Jacob M. Haldeman of Harrisburg, it 
was regularly explored, in 1830, by Hugh Maxwell and William 
White of Lancaster. 



25. For what is Duncan's island r&nark- i 27. What is said of Andrew Lykens? 
able ? 28. When, and by whom teas coal dis- 

86. Lykens valley ? | covered ' 



SECOND CLASS — DAUPHIN. 159 

29. The coal is chiefly mined in the Bear-gap, an opening in the 
southern side of the mountain, through which Bear creek flows to- 
ward the Wiconisco. Bear creek runs from the east between Bear 
and Big Lick mountains, (the union of which is generally called Short 
mountain,) before it breaks through at Bear-gap. The whole space 
between these mountains contains coal, and is in the usual form of 
a coal basin, with strata dipping rapidly from each side towards the 
centre. The veins are from 4 to 11 feet in thickness. The im- 
portance of this coal region is only beginning to be appreciated. 

30. The town of Wiconisco has grown up since the commencement 
of the coal business here, and bids fair to be a flourishing place. 
It is connected with the Wiconisco canal by means of a railroad. 
The wild scenery, pure air, and trout streams of the vicinity, render 
Wiconisco a pleasant summer retreat for a few days. 

31. Further south, coal has more recently been discovered, be- 
tween the Third and Fourth mountains. It has been mined to some 
extent, and somewhat approaches the qualities of the bituminous 
class. This is called the " Stony Creek" region. 

32. HisTonr. — The first settler within the present bounds of 
Dauphin county seems to have been John Harris, who established 
himself at the place where Harrisburg now stands, about 1726. He 
erected a fort or stockade, and carried on a considerable trade with 
the Indians. His son, the founder of Harrisburg, was the first 
white child born west of the Conewago hills. At the time of the 
French war of 1755, there was a large body of settlers in the county, 
which was then called Paxtang township, and formed part of Lan- 
caster. They were chiefly Scotch-Irish. After Braddock's defeat 
in 1755, the people of Paxtang were much harassed by the Indians, 
and many of them murdered. Their sufferings finally led to the 
vengeance which they took, upon the supposed spies of their foes, at 
the Lancaster workhouse in 1763. During the Revolutionary war, 
the men of Paxton and Derry turned out in large numbers to sustain 
the cause of Independence, and none made better soldiers. The 
Germans do not seem to have moved into Dauphin in considerable 
numbers till after the Revolution. In 1785, the county was orga- 
nized, taking its name from the JDartphin of France, afterwards called 
Louis the Seventeenth. From that period till 1812, when Harrisburg 
became the seat of government, it increased slowly but regularly 
in population and wealth. That event, and more especially the 
construction of the public works in 1825, gave it a new impulse. 
The discovery of coal in the county, in 1825, also added to its pros- 
perity. At present, few parts of the state exhibit so many marks 
of rapid and substantial improvement. 

33. Noted Citizens. — John Harris, the first settler, was from York- 
shire in England, and, judging from his boldness in establishing 
himself so far in advance of the then frontiers, and the sway he ac- 
quired over the savages, must have been guided by a spirit of great 
energy as well as uncommon prudence. On one occasion, having 

29. Describe this coal region. I 32. Repeat the events in the history of 

30. What is said of Wiconisco? Dauphin, \oith dates. 

31. Where is the Stony Creek region ? \ 33. Name the noted citizens. 



160 



STATE-BOOK 0!P PENNSYLVANIA. 



refused rum to the Indians, they tied him to a mulberry tree in front 
of his dwelling, and were proceeding to burn him to death, when he 
was released by some friendly Indians, who came to the spot just 
as the others were kindling the fire. In memory of his escape, at 
his own request, his remains, when he died in 1748, were buried at 
the foot of the tree. There they still repose, though the tree itself 
has long been dead, and nothing but a part of the trunk remains. 
The Rev. John Elder, the first clergyman in that part of Pennsyl- 
vania, was a Presbyterian from Scotland, a sound scholar, and one 
of the most remarkable men of his day. He was pastor of the con- 
gregation at Paxton, from 1736 till his death in 1792, in the 86th 
year of his age. He was also, during part of the time, colonel of 
the Dauphin Rangers, a body of men organized to repel the attacks 
of the Indians. He and the men of his congregation were fre- 
quently compelled to carry their rifles with them to church, so 
constant was their danger from the merciless savage. Lindky 
Murray, the great English grammarian, was born near Swatara 
within the present bounds of Dauphin county in 1745, and died ia 
England in 1826. William Darby, the distinguished geographer, 
who is still living, was also born in Dauphin, about 1775. Francis 
B. Shunk, the present governor of the state, has been a citizen of 
Dauphin county since 1812. 



CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 




1. Cumberland, in the Cumberland Valley, is bounded 
E. by Dauphin, N. by Perry, W. by Franklin, and S. by 
York and Adams. Area 550 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the Kittatinny and South moun- 
tains, which form its N. and S. boundaries. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna, which separates 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Cumberland ? 



2. The mountains ? 

3. Streams? 



SECOND CLASS CUMBERLAND. 161 



it from Dauphin ; the Conedoguinet creek, along the Kit- 
tatinny, and the Yellow Breeches, along the South mountain, 
both emptying into the Susquehanna ; and a number of 
large springs. 

4. The Soil of the valley is of the fertile limestone 
class ; approaching the mountains on each side, it is less 
fertile, but susceptible of easy improvement. It is nearly 
all tillable. 

5. The Minerals are liin-estone and iron-ore. 

6. The county contains 15 townships, 5 boroughs, and 
a number of villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Carlisle, the seat of justice, in 
the centre of the valley, with 4351 inhabitants; Shippens- 
burg, 1473 ; Mechanicsburg, 670 ; JYewville, 654 ; JVew 
Cumberland, 284, and the villages of Lisburn, Fairview, 
Stoughstown, Hogestown, and Wormeleysburg. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Cumberland 
Valley railroad, from Harrisburg through Carlisle to 
Chambersburg, and turnpikes from Carlisle to Harrisburg, 
Chambersburg, and Baltimore. 

9. The population, in 1840, was 30,953. Assessed 
value of property, in 1845, $9,092,674. 

10. The First Settlers were from the north of Ireland. 
Many Germans have since follow^ed them. Their chief 
employment is agriculture. 

11. The Productions are much grain of all kinds, cattle 
and pork. The county contains 8 furnaces, 5 forges, and 
many mills. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 college, with an 
academy or preparatory classical school ; 138 common, 
and several private schools. 

13. Cumberland elects 2 members to the House of Re- 
presentatives, and, with Perry, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Perry and Franklin, 1 member of Congress ; and is 
in the ninth judicial district. 



4 Soil? 

5. Minerals ? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and vilik^'j^es? 

y. Naiice the county-seat, and other 
borouifb^ and villages. 
S. The public improvements. 

14 



9. What is the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Cumberland? 

11. What are the productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial dictricl? 
* 



162 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

14. The Townships are, Mien, Dickenson, Frankford, Hampden, 
Hopewell, N. Middleton, S. Middleton, Mifflin, Monroe, Neivton, E. PennS' 
borough, W. Pennsborough, Shippen, Silvcr-Sp7-ing, and Southampton. 

15. Carlisle is a substantial and flourishing place, with wide 
streets, and a large square, around which are erected the public 
buildings and other edifices. It contains a spacious new court- 
house, a jail, market-house, town-hall, two common school build- 
ings, 10 churches, a bank, and Dickinson college; and in the 
vicinity are the United States barracks, and the county poor-house. 
The town was laid out in 1750, and became the seat of justice in 
1753. It had previously been the site of an old fort or stockade. 
In 1753, a second work of the same kind was erected, for the pro- 
tection of this distant frontier settlement. The first weekly mail 
from Philadelphia was established in 1757. During the Revolution- 
ary war, Carlisle, owing to its distance from the scene of hostilities, 
was frequently selected for the confinement of British prisoners ; 
among these, at one time early in the war, Avas the unfortunate 
Major Andre, who had been taken by Montgomery near Lake Cham- 
plain. In 1782, the town was incorporated. In 1794, General 
Washington had his head-quarters in Carlisle, while preparing the 
forces sent out to quell the whisky insurrection. It is on the rail- 
road and turnpike leading from Harrisburg to Chambersburg, 18 
miles W. of Harrisburg; 116 W. of Philadelphia; and 184 E. of 
Pittsburg. 

16. Dickinson college is one of the oldest, and now one of the most 
flourishing in the state. It was chartered in 1783, and named in 
honour of John Dickinson, president of the executive council, who 
was a liberal benefactor of the new institution. It passed through 
many changes till 1833, when it was transferred to the Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, and New Jersey conferences of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, since which time it has been in a more flourishing 
condition than formerly. The main college edifice was a^ected in 
1805, and is a spacious and substantial structure. There is also a 
large additional building for the faculty and students, and another 
for the use of the preparatory department. The whole number of 
students is about 180. 

17. The United States barracks, in the outskirts, were built in 
1777, chiefly by Hessian prisoners captured at Trenton. They can 
accommodate 2000 men. During the past few years, they have 
been occupied by the United States dragoons, as a place of cavalry 
practice. 

18. Four miles north of Carlisle are the sulphur springs, formerly 
a place of considerable resort. It is a pleasant, quiet, summer re- 
treat, with comfortable accommodations for visiters. 

19. Shippensburg, the oldest town in the county, is 21 miles S. W. 
of Carlisle. The county courts were held here in 17.00. It was in- 
corporated in 1819. 



14. Name the toionships. I 17. The United States barracks. 

15. Describe Carlisle. I 1 8. 2'he sulphur springs. 

16. Dickifison college. \ 19. What is said of Shippensburg ? 



SECOND CLASS CUMBERI^ND. 163 

20. Mechanicsburg is a thriving town on the railroad, 8 miles E. 
of Carlisle. 

21. Neirville is also near the railroad, 12 miles W. of Carlisle, ft 
is a flourishing place, with two churches. 

22. About a mile north of Carlisle, on the Conedoguinet creek, 
there is a remarkable cave. It is in a limestone cliff, with an arch- 
like entrance 8 feet high. A passage 80 yards in length leads from 
the entrance to a point where the cave branches off in various di- 
rections, some of the avenues extending a considerable distance. 
Human bones are said to have been found in it, supposed to be 
those of Indians who may have used it as a place of sepulture. 

23. History. — Previous to the settlement of Cumberland, it was 
occupied by the Shawanee Indians, by permission of the Six Nations. 
In 1736, the latter sold this territory to the proprietaries, though set- 
tlers had intruded upon it before that time. When the county was 
erected in 1750, it contained 807 taxable inhabitants, embracing all 
the then settled part of the province westwards. It was called C'lim- 
berlaurl, and its chief town Carlisle, after the shire of Cumberland, in 
England, of which Carlisle is the seat of justice. In 1755, the pro- 
prietaries instructed their agents to encourage the Irish to settle in 
Cumberland, and the Germans in York, in order to prevent colli- 
sions between them. Cumberland was much disturbed by the 
Indians till 1764, when tliey were defeated by Colonel Bouquet, at 
Brushy-run, on his way to relieve Fort Pitt. From that time, this 
source of annoyance seems to have nearly ceased. During the Re- 
volutionary war, Cumberland was called on to take no part, except 
that of sending her sons to fight in the common cause. In 1784, 
Franklin county was separated from her, and in 1820, Perry was 
taken off. She has since gone on quietly and prosperously, grow- 
ing in population and increasing in wealth. 

24. Noted Citizens. — Sa?nuel Brady, the famous captain of the 
scouts, whose daring achievements have connected his name and 
memory with so many spots ift western Pennsylvania, was born in 
Shippensburg in 1758. He commenced his career by marching as* 
a private to the siege of Boston in 1775, when only 17 years of age. 
William Denning, who died in 1830, in his 94th year, in Mifflin town- 
ship, was an artificer in the Revolutionary army. He was the first 
to form effective wrought iron cannon. Two of them were used with 
perfect success. One was taken by the British at the battle of 
Brandywine, and is now in the tower of London. Thomas Duncan, 
late judge of the Supreme Court of the state, was a native of Car- 
lisle. He was a sound jurist. John B. Gibson, the present chief 
justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, is a native of Carlisle, 
and the son of Colonel Gibson, who fell at St. Clair's defeat. 

20. Of Mechanicsburg? I 23. Detail the history of Cumberlatid. 

21. Of Neiovilk? \ with the dates. 

22. Of the Conedoguinet cave? \ 24. Natne the noted citizens. 



164 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



FRANKLIN COUNTY. 




1. Franklin, a Cumberland Valley county, is bounded 
on the E. by Adams, N. E. by Cumberland and Perry, 
N. W. by Mifflin and Huntingdon, W. by Bedford, and 
S. by Maryland. Its ai'ea is 740 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the South mountain, dividing it 
from Adams on the east ; the Kittatinny or Blue moun- 
tain, which traverses the north-western part of the county, 
and terminates near Loudon, in two abrupt hills, called 
Jordan'' s and ParneWs Knobs ; and the Tus-ca-ro'ra and 
Cove mountains, which separate it from Bedford. 

3. The Streams are, the Con-ed-o-guiu'et creek, flowing 
through Cumberland into the Susquehanna, the Con-e-co- 
cheague', with its numerous branches, and the An-ti'e-tam 
and Licking, running southward into the Po-to'mac, and 
the Tuscarora emptying northward into the Ju-ni-at'a. 

4. The Soil of the large middle portion of the county, 
occupied by the limestone of the Cumberland Valley, is 



1. AVhat are the class, 
and area of Franklin ? 

2. The mountains ? 



boundaries, I 3. Streams? 
4. Soil? 



SECOND CLASS FRANKLIN. 



165 



equal to any in fertility. The sandstone soil of the South 
mountain is sterile. Bordering the mountains on the north 
and west, the slate land, though not naturally fertile, is of 
a kindly nature and easily improved. Nearly the whole 
county is tillable. 

5. The chief Minerals are, iron-ore of superior quality, 
along the edge of the South mountain and in the valley, 
abundance of limestone^ and some marble. 

6. It contains 15 townships, 7 boroughs, and several 
pleasant villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Chambjersburg, the county-seat, 
on Conecocheague creek, with 3239 inhabitants; Mer- 
cersburg, with 1143 ; Green-castle^ with 931 ; Waynes- 
borough^ 799 ; Fayetteville, Loudon, Fannetsburg ; and the 
villages are Strasburg, St. Thomas, Roxbury, Concord, and 
Green-village. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Cumberland 
Valley railroad from Harrisburg .through Chambersburg, to 
Hagerstown in Maryland ; and turnpikes from Chambers- 
burg to Gettysburg, Carlisle, and Bedford, with one in the 
southern part of the county, through Mercersburg, Green- 
castle, and Waynesborough, towards Baltimore. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 37,793, and the 
assessed value oi property, in 1845, $11,600,143. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were Scotch-Irish, who were 
soon followed by Germans. The descendants of the latter 
are now numerous, and still use the language of their an- 
cestors to a considerable extent. 

11. The people are chiefly employed in agriculture, 
though many are engaged in iron-works. 

12. The Productions are all kinds of grain in abun- 
dance, with cattle and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are a college and 
theological seminary, an 
and 172 common schools, 
places of public worship. 



academy, a female seminary, 
The county contains over 40 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seal, other bo- 
roughs and villages ? 

8. The public improvements? 



9. "What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county ? 

11. How are they employed? 

12. What are the productions? 

13. The literary institutions? 



166 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



14. Franklin elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Adams, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with Cumberland and Perry, 1 member of Congress ; and 
is in the sixteenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Antrim, Fannef, Greene, Guilford, Hamil- 
ton, Letterkenny, Lurgan, Metal, Mo7itgomery, Peters, Quincy, Southamp- 
ton, St. Thomas, Warren, and Washington. 

16. Chambersburg, a substantial and flourishing town, is placed 
at the junction of J'alling Spring with the Conecocheague creek. 
The first settlement in the county was made where the town now 
stands, by Benjamin Chambers, from the north of Ireland, in 1730. 
The town which takes its name from him, was laid out in 1764, and 
erected into a borough in 1803. Its public buildings are an elegant 
new court-house, a jail, 8 churches, a bank, and a spacious academy. 
The creeks that pass through its bounds afford great water-power. 
The surrounding country is rich and well settled, and the facilities 
for communication by railroad and turnpikes are ample. The in- 
ducements for investment in manufactories are therefore very 
great. Already Chambersburg contains several flour and fulling- 
mills, an oil-mill, a large sti-aw paper-mill, an extensive edge-tool, 
and a cotton and woollen, factory. It is distant 48 miles S. W. from 
Harrisburg, 148 W. from Philadelphia, 152 E. from Pittsburg, and 
77 N. W. from Baltimore. 

17. At Mercersburg, a pleasant town in the south-western part of 
the county, Marshall college, and the theological seminary of the 
German Reformed church, are situated. The main building of the 
latter is a large and handsome brick edifice. Both institutions are 
in a prosperous state. Particular attention is paid to the cultiva- 
tion of the German language and literature. Mercersburg con- 
tains 5 churches. 

18. Greencasile and Wayncshorough are both flourishing towns, 
situated in the midst of rich and highly cultivated land. Each 
contains several churches. 

19. Snotv-hill, on Antietam creek, near the South mountain, is a 
village of the Seventh-day Baptists, whose chief settlement was 
formerly at Ephrata, in Lancaster county. The peculiar obser- 
vances of the society are here maintained. 

20. The County Poor-house is near the turnpike, 2 miles E. of 
Chambersburg. The buildings, of stone, are large and commodious. 
The farm contains about 200 acres. 

21. The resources of Franklin are very considerable. In addition 
to the rich agricultural productions of a Cumberland valley count}'-, 
she has recently exhibited strong symptoms of manufacturing en- 
terprise. For the prosecution of this kind of industry she pos- 



14. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 

16. What is said of Chambersburg ? 

17. 0/ Mercersbiirg and Marshall college? 



18. Of Greencastle ami Waynesborough? 

19. Of Snow-hill? 

20. Of the Poor-house? 

31. Of the resources of the county? 



SECOND CLASS FRANKLIN. 167 



sesses many advantages, among which may be mentioned her 
ready access to market by railroad and turnpike. 

22. HisTouY. — This county, known, among the early pioneers, as 
the " Conecocheaque sctilement," received its earliest permanent 
white inhabitants in 1730. The first settlers were chiefly from the 
north of Ireland, but these have more recently been followed by 
Germans. Being on the very out-posts of civilization, they were 
long exposed to the attacks and cruelties of the Indians. This was 
especially the case after Braddock's defeat, in 1755. During all 
this period, however, the hardy settlers maintained their ground. 
In time of peace, they carried on a profitable trade with the Indians, 
and when hostilities succeeded, protected themselves against the 
savages in the numerous forts and block-houses which their ex- 
posed situation compelled them to erect. From this hardy school, 
many brave and enterprising soldiers went forth to support the 
cause of the countr}-, during the war of the Revolution. In 1784, 
the county was separately organized, taking the name of the great 
philosopher of the age. It previously constituted part of Cumber- 
land. Its prosperity was very much promoted by the construction 
of the turnpikes connecting it with Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and 
Baltimore, from 1812 to 1815; and more recently, by the comple- 
tion of the Cumberland Valley railroad. 

23. Noted Citizens. — Col. Benjamin Chambers, the first white 
settler in the county, seems to have been born in the north of Ire- 
land, about 1708, and died at Chambersburg, in 1788. He was a 
useful and enterprising citizen, and deservedly possessed great in- 
fluence. William Findlay, who was governor of the state from 1817 
till 1821, is a native of Mercersburg, where he was born about 
1770, and resided till 1807, when he was elected state-treasurer. 
He now resides at Pittsburg. 

22. State the events in the history of I 23. Name the noted citizens. 
Franklin., with dates. I 



168 



STATE-BOOK 6F PENNSYLVANIA. 



THIRD CLASS. 



SCHUYLKILL COUNTY. 



1 OrwiKsbiirg. 3 Schuylkill Haven. 

2 Pottsville. 4 Fredensburg. 

5 Port Clinton. 

6 McKeansburg. 

7 Port Carbon. 

8 Tuscarora. 

9 Minersville. 

10 Taniaqua. 

11 Malianoy. 

12 Zimmerman's T, 

13 Klingrerstown. 

14 Pinegrove. ^ 




1. Schuylkill, an anthracite mountain county, is hounded 
on the N. E. by Carbon, N. by Luzerne, N. W. by Co- 
lumbia and Northumberland, S. W. by Dauphin and 
Lebanon, and S. and S. E. by Berks and Lehigh. Area^ 
750 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, on the south, the Kittatinny ; then 
the Second^ Sharp, and Broad mountains occur ; the Ma- 
hantongo and the Line mountain are in the north-west part 
of the county, and on the north-east are Locust , Mahanoy, 
and Green mountains. Between these principal ridges 
there are many others of less size, Schuylkill being almost 
wholly mountainous. 

3. The Streams are, the Schuylkill river flowing to 



1. What are the clas.s, boundaries, and I 2. Its mountains? 
area of Schuylkill ? | 



THIRD CLASS SCHUYLKILL. 169 

the Delaware, with its various branches, of which Little 
Schuylkill is the principal ; the Swatara in the south-west, 
i\iQ Ma-han-ton' go in the north-west, and \htMa-ha-7io'ym 
the north, all flowing into the Susquehanna. In the north- 
east, the Cat-a-wis' sa empties into the North Branch, and 
in the south-east are some of the tributaries of the Le'fdgh, 

4. Most of the Soil is of little value for agricultural 
purposes, but there are a few small valleys of fertile land 
which are cultivated ; about one-fourth of the county be- 
ing fit for farming. 

5. The chief Mineral is anthracite coal^ in inexhaustible 
abundance, with considerable quantities of iron-ore, and 
some limestone. 

6. Schuylkill contains 15 townships, 6 boroughs, and a 
great many busy and growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Orwigshurg, the county-seat, on 
a small branch of the main Schuylkill, with 779 inhabit- 
ants, Pottsville, on the Schuylkill, w^ith 4345, Schuylkill 
Haven, Miner sville,Pinegrove, and Ta-ma'qua; and the vil- 
lages are. Port Carbon, Port Clinton, Zimmermanstown, 
Fiiedensburg, Tuscarora, 8fc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the SchuylJdll JVavi- 
gation, and the Pottsville, Reading, and Philadelphia railroad, 
both connecting Schuylkill with the latter place. Within 
the county are numerous other railroads, of which the prin- 
cipal are the Little Schuylkill and the Mine Hill and 
Schuylkill Haven railroad, w^ith many shorter ones leading 
to the various mines. In the south-west, a branch of the 
Union canal connects Pinegrove with that work. The 
turnpike from Reading to Sunbury passes through Orwigs- 
burg and Pottsville. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 29,053, and the as- 
sessed value oi property, in 1845, $5,943,678. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were German farmers from the 
counties on the south. Latterly, since the vast increase 
of the coal business, many citizens from other counties in 
the state, and large numbers of miners from Wales, Ire- 



3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 



7. Name the county-scat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public iniprovemonis? 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

I 10. Who settled the county ? 

15 



170 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

land, Scotland, and England, have given a very mixed 
character to the population, and to the language, English, 
German, Welsh, and Irish being all occasionally heard. 

11. Their chief employment is mining and transporting 
coal to market, and the other occupations therewith con- 
nected. But a small proportion of the people are perma- 
nently engaged in agriculture. Some few are employed in 
lumbering, and latterly several large iron- works have been 
established. 

12. Their main Productions are consequently coal, 
with some lumber and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies, 1 fe- 
male seminary, 68 common, and several private schools. 

14. Schuylkill elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Carbon, Monroe, and Pike, 1 to the 
Senate of the state ; with Dauphin and Lebanon, 1 mem- 
ber of Congress ; and is in the twenty-first judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Barry, Branch, E. Brunswig, W. Brunswig^ 
Loiver Mahantongo, Upper Mahantongo, Manheim, Norwegian, Pinegrove, 
Porter, Rush, Schuylkill, Union, Wayne, and West Penn. 

16. Orwigsburg, the county-town, is seated in a pleasant and fer- 
tile valley, about 8 miles S. E. of Pottsville. It contains the usual 
county buildings, an academy, and 3 churches. It was laid out in 
1796, incorporated in 1813, and takes its name from Peter Orwig, 
the proprietor of the ground. It is 78 miles N. W. of Philadelphia, 
62 N. E. of Harrisburg, and 260 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Pottsville, the great centre of the coal business of Schuylkill 
county, is a toAvn of very recent growth, having been wholly built 
up since 1825. John Pott, whose name has been given to it, was 
the owner of some of the land on which the town now stands. 

18. Though the history of Pottsville does not date far back, it tells 
of many changes. Times of fierce and bold speculation have had 
their inseparable consequences in almost utter stagnation and loss. 
But now, the great business of the place being well understood and 
reduced to a system, and the actual value of coal lands ascertained, 
there is little danger of a recurrence of the fluctuations here- 
tofore experienced. The various operations of mining, preparing, 
transporting to market, and selling the coal, are well arranged. 
Each has its small, though certain profit. And, as the demand for 
the article constantly increases, the success, to a reasonable extent, 
of those engaged in the business seems to be beyond danger. It is 
at length on that foundation, which is the only safe one in trade, 
yielding a small profit on a large and increasing business. 



11. What are their employments? 

12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. What members does it elect, and 
what is the judicial district? 



15. Name the toivnsJiips. 

16. Describe Orwigsburg. 

17. Wfiat is said of Pottsville ? 

18. 0/its business ? 



THIRD CLASS SCHUYLKILL. 



171 



19. Pottsville is situated on the Schuylkill, just above the point 
where it passes through the Sharp mountain. It was incorporated 
in 1828, and contains, within the borough limits, Mount Carbon, and 
several other villages. Vast quantities of coal are transported from 
it on the Schuylkill Navigation and the Reading railroad, and 
several iron and other manufactories are carried on. The chief 
buildings are, the town-hall, academy, bank, 6 churches, and several 
large hotels and elegant private residences. The town is generally 
well built, and is 86 miles N. W. of Philadelphia, 58 N. E. of Har- 
risburg, and 256 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

20. Fort Carbon, on the main branch of the Schuylkill, two miles 
above Pottsville, at the termination of the Schuylkill Navigation, is 
another thriving coal town. The Schuylkill Valley railroad, with its 
numerous lateral roads, leads a large business to this point. 

21. MiiuTsville is on the west branch of the Schuylkill, 4 miles 
N. W. of Pottsville, with a railroad, 3 churches, a flour and saw- 
mill, foundery, and car factory, and 1265 inhabitants. 

22. Schuylkill Haven is on the Schuylkill, at the point where the West 
Branch railroad connects with the Schuylkill Navigation. It con- 
tains 700 inhabitants, and is 4 miles below Pottsville. It has 
3 churches, and 2 bridges over the Schuylkill. It dift'ers from most 
of the coal-towns of the county, in being surrounded by fertile farms, 
instead of the rugged and bare mountain sides of the rest of the coal 
region. 

23. Tainaqiui is on the Little Schuylkill, 15 miles E. of Pottsville, 
between the Sharp and Locust mountains. It is a straggling, busy 
place, with 465 inhabitants and 3 churches. It was laid out in 
1829, by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation company, who own large 
tracts of coal land in the vicinity. 

24. Port Clinton is at the mouth of the Little Schuylkill, and is 
connected with Tamaqua by the Little Schuylkill railroad. 

25. Pinegrove is on the Swatara, in the south-west part of the 
county, between the Kittatinny and Second mountain. The Swa- 
tara branch of the Union canal terminates at this place, and joins a 
railroad which leads northward into the coal region. It is a thriv- 
ing place, and ships a large amount of the coal known by its name. 

26. Schuylkill is the chief anthracite coal county in the state. It 
is traversed by two of the three basins that enrich the anthracite 
region: the southern a.nd the middle. The southern, which commences 
in Dauphin county, crosses the whole southern portion of Schujd- 
kill, from the neighbourhood of Pinegrove, past Pottsville, to Mauch 
Chunk, in Carbon. The middle basin or field extends from Sha- 
mokin, in Northumberland county, across the northern part of 
fc:'chuylkill to Beaver Meadow, in Carbon. 

27. Schuylkill county sends streams into the Delaware through 
the Schuylkill and Lehigh; into the Lower Susquehanna through 
the Swatara; into the Middle Susquehanna through the Wiconisco, 



19. Describe the town. 

20. What is said of Port Carbon ? 

21. Minersville? 

22. Schuylkill Haven ? 

23. Tamaqua J 



24. Tort Clinton ? 

25. Pirie^ror-e? 

26. What is said of Schuylkill as a coal 
county ? 

27. Of its streams? 



172 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mahantongo, and Mahanoy, and into the Upper Susquehanna, or 
North Branch, through the Catawissa. In fact, the county is drained 
by streams running east, west, north, and south, and must therefore 
be the highest land between those streams. 

28. HisTOKT. — The tenitory now composing Schuylkill does not 
seem to have been visited by any white men, except hunters, much 
before 1790, though the existence of coal was known several years 
earlier. About 1787, a company was formed by General Arthur 
St. Clair, (then living in Montgomery county,) Smmiel Potts, Samuel 
Bqird, Francis Nicholls, and some other citizens of that county, to 
mine coal on the Norwegian creek, where Pottsville now stands. 
They do not seem to have made any progress in the main object of 
the undertaking, for their lands were soon afterwards sold. In 1790, 
a few Germans from the lower counties settled in the valleys imme- 
diately north of the Kittatinny. About 1806, coal began to be used 
by the blacksmiths of the settlement. In 1811, the county was 
erected out of parts of Berks and Northampton, taking the name 
of its main stream. In 1812, and the following years, some coal 
was taken to Philadelphia from the Norwegian, but did not sell. It 
was sent by George Shoemaker, Robert E. Hobart, John Potts, Peter Bas- 
tress, John Bailey, Nicholas Allen, and others. Some was transported 
on rafts on the Schuylkill, and some on wagons. From that time 
anthracite coal came slowly into use, but the coal-trade cannot be 
said to have really commenced till some years after the works of 
the Schuylkill Navigation Company were completed. They were 
commenced in 1815, and finished in 1825. That year there were 
6500 tons of coal transported on the navigation, and since that time 
the quantity has immensely increased every year. In 1845, the 
number of tons transported by the Schuylkill Navigation and Read- 
ing railroad was 1,083,824. Schuylkill is now one of the busiest 
and most flourishing counties in the state, and greatly promotes the 
prosperity of many of the others, by affording a constant .and in- 
creasing market for their productions. 

29. Noted Citizens. — A blacksmith, of the name of Whetstone, 
was the first who succeeded in using anthracite coal as a fuel for 
smithing purposes in Schuylkill county. This was in 1795. But 
his example does not seem to have been followed till 1806, when 
David Berlin, another blacksmith, also was successful in using it on 
his hearth. From that time many others employed it. Col. George 
Shoemaker, in 1812, took nine wagon loads of anthracite to Philadel- 
phia, but could only persuade the citizens to buy two of them, 
and gave the rest away for nothing. Some of it, however, was after- 
wards tried with perfect success at a rolling-mill in Delaware county, 
and the result noticed in the city papers of the day. 

28. B^peat its history. | 29. Name the noted citizens. 



THIRD CLASS CARBON. 



173 



CARBON COUNTY. 




1. Carbon, an anthracite mountain county, is bounded 
N. E. by Monroe, N. W. by Luzerne, S. W. by Schuyl- 
kill, and S. E. by Northampton and Lehigh. Area 400 
square miles. 

2. The most considerable mountains ?iYe,Mauch- Chunk * 
Broady Po-ko'no, Springy and Bald-ridge, and the Kitta- 
tinny forming its S. E. boundary. 

3. The Streams are, the Lehigh river, crossing the 
county from N. W. to S. E. The creeks are, the A-quan- 
chic'o-la, Big, Lizard, Ma-ho'ning, Mauch-Chunk, JVes- 
qui-ho'ning, Qua'kake, Hays, Slc. 

4. The quantity of arable Soil is small, the county being 
generally mountainous. In the south there are some lime- 
stone valleys tolerably fertile. 

5. The chief Minerals are, anthracite coal in great 
abundance, iron-ore, and some limestone. 

6. It contains 8 townships, and several growing vil- 
lages. 

7. The Towns are, Mauch-Chiink, the seat of justice, 
situated at the confluence of the Mauch-Chunk creek and 

* Mauch-Chunk, pronounced Mauk-Chunk. 



1 . What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Carbo?i? 

2. The mountains? 

3. Streams? 

15 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships and vil- 
lages? 



m 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Leliigh, with 1200 inhabitants ; and Beaver-Meadow, Ha- 
zletoiiy Lausanne J Penn-Haven, Cli/fton, Lehighton, Weiss- 
port, Parryvllle, &c. 

8. The PusLic Improvements are, the works of the 
I^high canal and Slack-water Navigation Company along 
the Lehigh ; the Beaver-Meadow railroad, from that place 
to Parryville, and other railroads ; and a turnpike from 
Mauch-Chunk to Easton, and to Berwick on the Susque- 
hanna. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 7500, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $1^291,319. 

10. The people are of various origin, drawn together by 
the business advantages of the county. Their chief pur- 
suits are mining, lurnhering, and boating. Little agricul- 
tural produce is raised. 

11. The Productions are anthracite coal, and lumber, 
in large quantities. 

12. The Literary Institutions are 29 common schools, 

13. Carbon elects, with Lehigh, 2 members to the House 
of Representatives, and, with Schuylkill, Monroe, and 
Pike, 1 to the Senate of the state; w^ilh Northampton, 
Monroe, Pike, and Wayne, 1 member to Congress ; and 
is in the twenty-first judicial district. 

14. The ToAvnships are, Banks, Lausanne, Mahoning, Blauck-Chunk, 
E. Penn, Penn Forest, Upper Towamensing, and Lmver Towameuning. 

15. The town of Mauch-Chunk, named from the mountain, occu- 
pies a wild and romantic position. It is a fresh-looking, busy place, 
with the requisite county buildings, 5 churches, an iron furnace, 
and foundery, grain mill, and other similar establishments. It was 
commenced in 1818, and is 91 miles N. of Philadelphia, & 99 N. E. 
of Harrisburg. 

16. Nine miles W. of the town are the celebrated Summit minesj 
on the top of Mauch-Chunk mountain, from which the Lehigh Com- 
pany obtain much of their coal. They are connected with the town 
landing by a railroad. The grade being descending all the distance 
from the summit, the loaded cars come down by their own weight, 
and were heretofore drawn up again when empty by mules that rode 
down with the coal, feeding in the cars as they descended. 



7. Name the county-seat, and other 
towns. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled it, and what are their 
vur suits? 



11. Their productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district ? 

14. Name the toivnships. 

15. Describe Maueh-Chunk. 

16. Wliat is said of the Summit mines ? 



THIRD CLASS — CARBON. 175 



17. Recently, owing to the largely increased demand for the com- 
pany's coal, greater facilities became necessary. They have con- 
sequently constructed what is called the " back track" which is one 
of the boldest, as well as most successful undertakings to overcome 
natural obstacles yet attempted; and when fully in operation, will 
probably altogether supersede the use of mules. 

18. From the schutes, where the coal cars are unloaded at the 
town of Mauch-Chunk, they return by their own weight, called 
gravity, to the foot of Mmmt Pisgah, a short distance north of the 
town. They are then drawn to the top of that mountain on an in- 
clined plane, by means of a stationary steam-engine. From the 
head of this plain they pass by their own gravity along a railway 
of six miles, to the foot of another inclined plane. To the top of 
this they are again raised by steam, and thence by gravity descend 
to the different workings or parts of the mine, where they are filled 
with coal. When loaded they descend by their own weight along 
the old railroad to the schutes. 

19. The Mount Pisgah plane is 2250 feet long, with a perpendi- 
cular rise of 664 feet, which is said to be the greatest elevation 
overcome by any single inclined plane in the world. Instead of the 
ropes used on other planes for elevating the cars, iron hands, four 
inches wide, and one-eighth of an inch in thickness, are substituted. 

20. The canal portion of the works of this enterprising company 
was almost entirely swept away by the great flood of January, 1841, 
but has since been reconstructed. No single undertaking of the \ 
same kind in the state has opened up for the use of man so great 
an extent of wilderness. In 1845, besides large quantities of lum- 
ber and other articles, 429,492 tons of coal were sent to market, by 
means of the Lehigh Navigation. ^ 

21. History. — The first settlement of this county, then forming 
part of Bucks, was effected by the Moravian missionaries, who, in •* 
1746, built Gnadenhmtten, on the Mahoning, near the Lehigh, for the 
residence of the converted Mohican Indians, who had been expelled 
from Shekomeko in New York, and Patchgatgoch in Connecticut. 
In 1754, most of them removed to New Gnadenhuetten, (now Weiss- 
port,) E. of the Lehigh. In 1755, old Gnadenhuetten was attacked 
and burned, and 1 1 persons killed, by the northern Indians. This 
caused the desertion of the new town. In 1756, Dr. B. Franklin 
built a fort called Fort Allen, at the latter place, by order of the go- 
vernor of the state. In 1760, another missionary station was es- 
tablished at Wech-qnc-tank, near or on the borders of Schuylkill 
county. The ill-feeling of the white settlers of Kittatinny valley, 
towards the converted Indians, caused the desertion of Wechque- 
tauk in 1763, after which it was burned. These settlements having 
tieen on or near the great " war path" leading to Wyoming, caused 
the ffloravian Indians to be suspected of all the hostile attacks by 
the northern Indians w^ho made their inroads by that way. In 1783, 

a few scattered white settlers resided along the Lehigh and Mahon- 

17. What is said of the back track ? I 20. 0/ the rornpamfs works generally? 

18. Describe it. 21. h'ame the lending events in the history 

19. What is said of Mount Pisgah plane? \ of Carbon, uilh their dates. 



176 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



ing. In 1791, the discovery of anthracite on the Lehigh directed at- 
tention to this district. In 1792, a coal mining company was formed, 
but did not effect much. From 1791 to 1816, various acts were 
passed by the legislature for the improvement of the Lehigh. In 
1818, the Lehigh Navigation Company, and the Lehigh Coal Company 
were both incorporated. They were united in 1822, and have been 
the cause of the present prosperity of the county, presenting one of 
the few instances of more good to the public generally, than to the 
company, being produced by such a corporation. The county was 
erected in 1843, from parts of Northampton and Monroe. Its name 
is derived from the Latin word carbo, which means coal. 

22. NoTKD Citizens. — Philip Gintcr was the first discoverer of 
anthracite coal on the Lehigh. He found it on Mauch-Chunk 
mountain in 1791. He was at the time a backwoods hunter. 
Josiah White, long the president, and yet the chief engineer of the 
Lehigh company, is tlic man of Carbon county. His indomitable 
perseverance, intelligence, ingenuity, and skill, carried through an 
undertaking that few could have accomplished. The recently con- 
structed " back track," shows that the fertility of his invention is 
equal to all demands upon it. 



MONROE COUNTY. 




1. Monroe, an eastern line mountain county, is bounded 
on the N. E. by Pike, on the N. by Wayne, on the N. W. 
by Luzerne, on the S. W. by Carbon, and on the S. E. by 



22. Name the noted dtizens. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Monroe ? 



THIRD CLASS — MONROE. 



177 



Northampton county and New Jersey. The area is 600 
square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the Kittatinny on the south-east, 
and Po-ko'no towards the centre, with Chestnut Hill, and 
Prospect Hill, and other elevated ridges. 

3. The Streams are, the Delaware river, separating it 
on the south-east from New Jersey ; the Lehigh dividing it 
from Luzerne on the north-west ; Brodheacf s creek, (with 
its branches, Pokoiio, McMickle^s, and MarshaWs,) and 
Bushkill between Monroe and Pike, both emptying into 
the Delaware; and the Tohyhanna in the north-west, and 
A-quan-chid o-la and Big creek, in the south-west, falling 
into the Lehigh. 

4. The Soil is very various ; a large portion of it being 
mountainous is unfit for cultivation, but produces excel- 
lent lumber ; in the south and east are some limestone and 
slate valleys, of a very fertile kind. 

5. The Minerals are not numerous. Some limestone 
is found in the south-east, which is the more valuable 
on account of its distance from any other body of the 
same kind of rock. 

6. Monroe contains 11 townships, 1 borough, and a 
few^ villages. 

7. The Borough of Slroudsburg, the county-seat, is 
near the junction of Pnkono with Brodhead's creek, and 
contains 407 inhabitants. The village of Dutotsburg is on 
the Delaware at the mouth of Cherry creek. 

8. The Public Improvements are few. A turnpike 
crosses the county from the Wind Gap to Stoddartsville, 
in Luzerne, on the Lehigh. The Lehigh Navigation 
Company's works have also been extended as far as the 
last-named place, along the north-western line of the 
county. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 9879, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, $1,422,309. 

10. The population is of a mixed description. That of 



2. Its mountains ? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 



7. Name the county-seat and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. "Who settled the county ? 



178 



STATE-BOOK 0^ PENNSYLVANIA. 



the south and south-eastern part is chiefly German, using 
their own language. In the north and north-western quarters 
many lumbermen from the adjoining counties have lately 
settled. 

11. Their chief employments are agriculture and lum- 
bering, and their productions of a similar nature. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, an academy and 
female seminary, and 69 common schools. 

13. Monroe, with Northampton, elects 3 members to 
the House of Representatives ; with Schuylkill, Carbon, 
and Pike, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Northampton, 
Carbon, Pike, and Wayne, 1 member of Congress ; and is 
in the twenty-first judicial district. 

14. The Townships are. Chestnut Hill, Coolbough, Hamilton, Jackson^ 
Pokono, Price, Ross, Smithfield, Middle Smithficld, Stroud, and Tobyhanna. 

15. Siroudsburg, seated in a pleasant valley about 4 miles from 
the Delaware, was regularly laid out about 1806; by Daniel Stroud, 
from whom it takes its name. It was incorporated in 1815, and has 
?. quiet rural appearance. It contains a court-house, jail, an aca- 
demy, and female seminary, a public library, 5 churches, a tannery, 
a flour-mill, and a saw-mill. Near it is a forge for making bar-iron. 
It is 85 miles N. of Philadelphia, 130 N. E. of Harrisburg, and 330 
N. E. of Pittsburg. 

16. The greater part of Monroe is yet uninhabited. The princi- 
pnl settlements are along the Delaware, and the lower parts of the 
is U cams that flow into it in the south-east part of the county, and in 
IjiC valleys that lie near the Kittatinny in the south and south-west. 
The inhabitants of these are engaged in agriculture. Furthe^r north 
and north-west, the land is yet only resorted to for the lumber it 
aflbrds. Since the completion of the Lehigh Company's works up to 
Stoddartsville, the value of that article has induced many to pene- 
trate the hitherto untrodden wilds of this part of the county. 

17. In the north-western part of the county, beyond Pokono moun- 
tain, there is an extensive tract of land, called the " Shades of Death." 
It received this dismal name from the miserable survivors of the 
Wyommg massacre, in 1778, when they were driven through its 
dark swamps and over the bleak Pokono to escape the merciless 
savage, and his heartless white allies. It is now becoming opened 
up to the light of day, and enlivened by the sound of the woodman's 
axe. The soil, though none the most productive, is capable of im- 
provement; but the timber growing upon it is of the most valuable 
kind. 



11. What are their pursuits and pro- 
ductions ? 

12. Literary institutions ? 

13. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 



14. Name the toivnships. 

15. Describe Stroiidsbvrg. 

16. ^Vhat is said of the different parts of 
the county ? 

n. Of the great stcamp^ what is it called ? 



THIRD CLASS MONROE. 179 

18. Monroe is not properl)'- an anthranic county, but is more 
closely related to that class than any other. It is equa,lly mountain- 
ous, its other productions are similar, and it borders on the Lehigh, 
the second anthracite stream of the state, upon which it depends for 
an outlet to market for its lumber. Its vicinity also to Carbon and 
Luzerne will probably connect it more closely in business with those 
anthracite counties than with any others. 

19. Along the Delaware are some alluvial flats of remarkably fer- 
tile land. These were probably settled as early as any other parts 
of the state. Between the Kittatinny in the south-east, and the Po- 
kono, a number of rich and beautiful limestone and slate valleys 
occur, that have also long been occupied. 

20. History. — It seems not improbable that the earliest settle- 
ment made by the whites within the bounds of the present county 
of Monroe, were by the Dutch, or Hollanders, from the Hudson. 
Certain it is, that a settlement existed on the Minisink flats of the 
Delaware, above the Kittatinny, long before it became known to the 
Proprietary government; the Delaware having \\.s Minisink or Munsy 
flats as well as the Susquehanna. As early as 1730, the provincial 
authorkies took formal measures to investigate the facts, and when 
the agent sent by them arrived there, he found a settlement of Hol- 
landers of some years standing, with a road leading to Esopus, (now 
Kingston,) on the Hudson. The Brodheads and others early settled 
on Brodhead's, or A-na-lo'mink creek, and in 1755, seem to have 
gained sufficient footing to defend themselves against the general 
outbreak of the Indians that took place that year. The same year 
Fort Hamilton was built, near the present town of Stroudsburg, and 
Fort Penn during the Revolution. It was here that the Wyoming 
wanderers took refuge. From the close of the Revolution till the im- 
provement of the Lehigh, and the organization of the county, which 
last event took place in 1836, little of interest occurred within its 
bounds. It now bids fair to become a flourishing portion of the 
state. It takes its name from the fifth President of the United States, 
and was formed out of parts of Northampton and Pike. In 1843 it 
lost a portion of its territory by the formation of Carbon county. 

21. Noted Citize>'s. — General Daniel Brodhead, an officer of 
the Revolutionary army, and in the subsequent Indian Wars, was 
a son of the first settler on Brodhead's creek. In 1780, he com- 
manded Fort Pitt, and was a celebrated leader of the frontier men 
against their Indian enemies. He was surveyor-general of the state 
during part of the term of Gov. McKean. Col. Jacob Stroud, also 
of the Revolutionary army, was the father of the person who laid 
out Stroudsburg, and was the first settler at that place. He died in 
1806. 



]ft. What is said of the class of MojiToe? I 20. What is the history of the county, 
19. What of the Delaware Jiats and val- with dates ? 
leys ? I 21. Name the noted citizens. 



180 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 





NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY. 




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Hills 








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z 




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y 




^ 






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o 




~^ci5^^i5iffiii^iMi!i 




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z 






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5;- 

^ 1 Sunbury. 








\ 'MmMu/' ^ 


/, C*-^"^ 


\ 2 Northumberland. 






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^ 3 Milton. 

4 Watsonburg. 




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5 Snydertown. 






^«^^^^T s 


6 Shamokin. 








0°15'-^E. 




7 Georgetown. 





1. Northumberland, an anthracite mou7itai7i county, 
is bounded on the E. and N. E. by Columbia, N. by Ly- 
coming, W. by Union, S. by Dauphin, and S. E. by 
Schuylkill. Area 500 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the Line^ Little, Ma-ha-noj/ , and 
Big mountains, in the S. ; the Sha-mo'kin hills in fhe 
middle, but S. of the North Branch ; Montour^s ridge, cele- 
brated for its iron, and Limestone ridge, N. of the North 
Branch ; and the Muncy hills, in the extreme north. 

3. The Streams are, the JVorth and West Branches of 
the Susquehanna, uniting at Northumberland, and thence 
forming the main Susquehanna, along the western border of 
the county; the creeks are, Ma-han-ton!go, Ma-ha-noy, 
and Sha-mo'/dn, falling into the main Susquehanna ; Roar- 
ing creek into the North, and Chil-lis-qua-que* and Lime- 
stone into the West Branch. 

4. The Soil is of very different qualities. The alluviac 
flats, and limestone land along the West Branch, are highly 

* Chilisquaque pronounced ChU-lis-quav/ que. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and I 3. Streams ? 
area of Northumberland? 4. Soil? 

2. What are its mountains? I 



THIRD CLASS NORTHUMBERLAND. 181 

fertile. There is also limestone, and consequently pro- 
ductive land about Sunbury, and in some of the valleys 
south of it. In many parts, slates and shales occur, afford- 
ing very fertile land under a proper system of tillage. The 
mountains themselves are generally barren. One half 
of the area of the county may be called farm land. 

5. The valuable Minerals are anthracite coal, the mid- 
dle coal basin terminating in this county ; with limestone 
and iron-ore. 

6. Northumberland contains 17 townships, 3 boroughs, 
and a number of growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Sunbury, the seat of justice, on 
the main Susquehanna, with 1108 inhabitants; JYorth- 
uraherland, on the point between the North and West 
Branches, with 928, and Milton on the West Branch, with 
1508 ; the villages are, Georgetown, Snydertown, Shamo- 
kin, McEwensville, Watsonburg, &c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the North and West 
Branch canals, uniting at Northumberland, thence extend- 
ing down the river on the Union county side ; a railroad 
from Sunbury to Shamokin, intended to be continued to 
Pottsville ; a turnpike from Pottsville, through Sunbury 
and Northumberland to Lewisburg, in Union county ; two 
noble bridges over the West and North Branches at North- 
umberland ; one over the West Branch at Lewisburg, and 
one at Milton. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 20,027, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $4,035,605. 

10. The first settlers were Irish and English. In the 
southern townships, the majority are now Germans, who 
use their own language. 

11. Their chief Employments are, agriculture and coal 
mining, with a small amount of iron business, and some 
lumbering. 

12. Their Productions are, grain of all kinds, cattle 
and pork, coal, lumber, and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 3 academies, 1 



5. Minerals ? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name ihe county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 



16 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled tlie county? 

11. What are their employments? 

12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 



182 



STATE-BOOK O^ PENNSYLVANIA. 



female seminary, 80 common, and several private schools. 
There are over 30 churches in the county. 

14. Northumberland elects 1 member to the House of 
Representatives, and, with Dauphin, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Union, Lycoming, and Clinton, 1 member of 
Congress ; and is in the eighth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Jtugusfa, Chillisquaque, N. Coal, S. Coal, 
Delaware, Jackson, Lewis, Lower Mahanoy, Upper Muhatioy, Little Ma- 
hanoy, Milton, Northumberland, Point, Rush, Shainokin, Simbury, and 
Turbet. 

16. Simbury is delightfully situated on the east bank of the Sus- 
quehanna, a short distance below the confluence of its two branches, 
and just above Shamokin creek. In front of it, the Shamokin dam 
of the Susquehanna canal forms a wide and lake-like basin, and on 
either hand are high and picturesque hills. It is a pleasant, quiet, 
old borough, built on a long green, or rather very wide street, in the 
midst of which stands the court-house. It was laid out in 1772, and 
was the seat of Fort Augusta during the early Indian troubles. It 
was incorporated in 1797, and contains the usual county buildings, 
5 churches, an academy, and a foundery. Being the terminating 
point of the Shamokin railroad, considerable quantities of coal are 
shipped here. The business of the place will be much increased 
when that road is connected, as it will be, with Potlsville. It is 52 
miles N. of Harrisburg, 123 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 220 N. E. 
of Pittsburg. 

17. Northumberland occupies one of the most beautiful as well as 
commanding positions in the state. The scenery combines the 
charms of river and mountain views in great variety, and in a high 
degree. Its noble bridges, its canals, and its vicinity to the rich 
lands of the West Branch, and of Buffalo Valley in Unic^n county, 
and to exhaustless coal and iron, seem to indicate that it ought to 
be more than a mere place of transit. The intelligence and capital 
of its citizens, when applied to manufactures, for which it has all 
the elements, will make it the Pittsburg of the Susquehanna. 

18. Northumberland was laid out in 1775, but shortly afterwards 
abandoned, in consequence of attacks by the Indians. It was re- 
cccupied in 1785, and soon grew to some importance, being a 
commanding trading point. The completion of the state canals 
past it on the North and West Branches, deprived it of this advan- 
tage. It was incorporated in 1828, and contains 5 churches, an 
academy, a bank, and a town-hall. 

19. Milton is a flourishing town, 12 miles above Northumberland, 
on the West Branch. It contains 6 churches, an academy, with 
several flour-mills and founderies. 

20. Shamokin is a new coal town, built since 1834, about 19 miles 



14. How many members are elected, 
and what is the judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 

16. Describe Swibury. 



17. What is said of Northumberland'' 

IS. Describe it. 

19. Describe Milton. 



THIRD CLASS NORTHUMBERLAND. 183 

S. E. of Smibury. It is in the neighbourhood of some of the most 
valuable coal mines in the state, one of the veins being represented 
as 40 feet iu thickness. When the raih-oad connection with Potts- 
ville is completed, it will probably become a place of great business. 

21. Shaniokin is situated in the south-western termination of the 
middle anthracite basin, and has, in its vicinity, also large quanti- 
ties of iron-ore. A promising commencement of the coal trade was 
made here previous to 1840, but the change of times that then took 
place checked its growth. An extensive anthracite furnace was 
also erected. The place still promises to fulfil the expectations of 
those concerned in its prosperity. 

22. HisTOKT. — Before the Europeans took possession of the terri- 
tory of this county, it seems to have been occupied by tribes of the 
Delaware and Shawnee nations, under the control of the Five Nations. 
They had a town at Shamokin, now Sunbury, over which Slnkelli- 
7nus, a celebrated Cayuga chief, and the father of the well-known 
Logan, presided in 1731. Z?«~eHf/o;/ visited it in 1742, and Brainerd 
in 1745. Soon afterwards, the Moravians established a mission 
here; and, the lower part of the county having been purchased 
from the Indians in 1749, about 1750 English and Irish settlers 
began to move into it. Braddock's defeat, in 1755, exposed them to 
great hardships, and caused many to retire. The " new purchase," 
including the upper part, was made in 1768, and immediately after, 
many Scotch-Irish from below Kittatinny, and some Friends from 
the south-eastern counties, established themselves. Northumber- 
land, deriving its name from the English shire of that name, was 
formed into a separate county in 1772, with an indefinite extension 
to the north and west. It had previously formed part of Berks and 
Bedford. The breaking out of the Revolutionary war again ex- 
posed the settlers to great danger from the Indians and British, to 
protect themselves against whom, Forts Augusta at Sunbury, Fort 
Freeland, and Fort Menninger on Warrior's Run, and others up the 
West and North Branches, w^ere erected. Though jtntujy -vre killed, 
they held their ground till the close of the Revolution, exhibiting 
many acts of daring, and of devotion to the good cause. After that 
event, the county enjoyed peace, and a moderate share of prosperity. 
Luzerne was taken ofi'it in 1786, Mifliin in 1789, Lycoming in 1795, 
and Centre in 1800; and finally, Northumberland was brought 
down to its present limits by the formation of Columbia and Union 
in 1813. 

23. Noted Citizens. — Dr. Joseph Priestley, the celebrated philo- 
sopher, controversialist, and author, resided in t!i& town of North-', 
umberland, during the last ten years of his life. He was born in 
England in 1733, and died at Northumberland in 1804. He was the 
first to discover the existence of oxygen gas. 

20. Shamokin. I 22. State the history of the county, with 

21. What is said of it with refereiKe to dates. 

tlie coal trade ? 23. Name the noted citizens. 



184 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 




1. Luzerne, an anthracite mountain county, is hounded 
by Wayne on the E., Susquehanna and Wyoming on the 
N., Wyoming, Lycoming, and Columbia on the W., 
Schuylkill and Carbon on the S., and Monroe on the S. E. 
Its area is 1400 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the main Allegheny^ broken 
into huge irregular hills, and known by various names in 
the north-western part ; across the middle portion, from 

^tfu ^/noftli-west to s^th-east, lie two ranges, the northern called < 
the Lack-a-wan!nock, in the N. E., and the Shawnee and 
JVan'ticoke in the S. W., and the southern, called the 
Moosic, in the N. E., and the Wyoming in the S. W. 
These ranges are about 6 miles apart, and embrace be- 
tween them the Wyoming or Lackawanna coal valley. In 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Luzerne ? 



2. Mountains? 



THIRD CLASS LUZERNE. 185 

che southern quarter are JVes' co-peck and Buck mountain. 
South of Buck mountain a portion of the middle coal ba- 
sin is included in Luzerne. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna, or North Branch 
river, running through the middle of the county, and the 
Lehigh forming part of its eastern boundary. The creeks 
are, the Lack-a-wan'na, Wap-wal-lo' pen, JVes' co-peck, Hunt- 
ingdon, Shickshinny, Hemlock, and Harvey'' s, flowing into 
the Susquehanna, and Bear, with some smaller streams, into 
the Lehigh. There is a number of picturesque waterfalls 
in Luzerne. 

4. The Soil is very various. That of the Wyoming 
Valley and of the bottom lands on the streams is very fer- 
tile. The mountainous portion is sterile. More than one- 
half of the county may be capable of cultivation. 

5. The Minerals are, anthracite coal, in vast abundance, 
and some iron-ore. There seems to be no limestone in 
the county. 

6. Luzerne contains 33 townships, 3 boroughs, and 
several villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Wilkesharre, the seat of justice, 
on the Susquehanna, in Wyoming Valley, with 1718 in- 
habitants, Carhondah, near the north-east end of Lacka- 
wanna Valley, with about 2000, and Whitehaven. The 
villages nre, Sloddai'tsville, Conyngham, JYescopeck, Ply- 
mouth, Kingston, Troy, and Pittston. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the JVorth Branch 
canal, from the south-eastern line of the county to the 
mouth of the Lackawanna ; the railroad of the Lehigh 
company, from Wilkesharre to Whitehaven on the Lehigh, 
and one from Carbondale to Honesdale in Wayne county ; 
a turnpike from Stoddartsville, through Wilkesharre, to 
Tunkhannock, two in the north-east, and another across 
the south-east part, and a large bridge over the Susque- 
hanna at Wilkesharre. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 33,000, and 
the assessed value of property, in 1845, $4,825,081. 



a. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
anil villages ? 

IG 



7. Name the county-scat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. AVhal are the population and pro- 
perty? 



186 



STATE-BOOK OS PENNSYLVANIA. 



10. The FIRST Settlers were from Connecticut. These 
were soon followed by others from the lower counties of 
Pennsylvania. 

11. Their chief employments are, agriculture^ coal- 
mining and lumbering; and Xheiv productions are in accord- 
ance with those pursuits. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, an academy and 
female seminary, 137 common, and a number of private 
schools. 

13. Luzerne elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Columbia, 1 to the Senate of the 
state, and, with Columbia and Wyoming, 1 member of 
Congress ; and is in the thirteenth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Abington, Benton, JBlukcly, Buck, Butler, 
Carbondale, Covington, Dallas, Dennison, Dorrance, Exeter, Fairmount, 
Franklin, Greenfield, Hanover, Hazle, Huntington, Jefferson, Kingston, 
Lackawanna, Lake, Lehman, Nescopeck, Newton, Newport, Pitlston, Ply- 
mouth, Providence, Ross, Salem, Sugar-loaf, Union, and Wilkesbarre. 

15. Wilkesbarre, so called from a combination of the names of 
the noted John Wilkes and Colonel Barre, two prominent members 
of the British Parliament, who zealously advocated the rights of the 
colonies in that body about the commencement of the war of Inde- 
pendence, is delightfully seated on the Susquehanna, in the far-famed 
<' Vale of Wyoming." It was laid out by Colonel Durkee in 1773, 
and incorporated in 1806. It contains the ordinary county build- 
ings, 3 churches, a bank, academy, female seminaiy, and an exten- 
sive rolling-mill. It has a bridge over the Susquehanna, connecting 
it with Kingston. Its business facilities, by river, canal, railroad, 
and turnpike, are very great. It is 111 miles N. W. of Philadelphia, 
and 115 N. E. of Harrisburg. 

16. Carbondale is a flourishing town at the head of the Lackawanna 
Valley, built up since 1826, by the coal business. It is at the mines 
owned by the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company, who trans- 
port immense quantities of coal from this point, by means of their 
line of canal and railroad to the city of New York. It contains 
6 churches. 

17. Whitehaven and Stoddarfsville are on the Lehigh in the great 
lumber country opened up by the Lehigh Navigation. The former 
is the point where the railroad from Wilkesbarre strikes the Lehigh. 
It bids fair to become a large busy place. 

1 8. The coal of this county must form its chief wealth, when all 
the contemplated avenues to market shall be completed. The ex- 



10. "Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their employments and 
productions? 

12. Literary institutions ? 

13. What members are elected, and 
what is the judicial district ? 



14. Name the tmvnships. 

15. Describe Wilkesbarre. 

16. Carbondale. 

17. Whitehaven and StoddartsvilU. 

18. What is said of the probable demand 
for the Wyoming coal ? 



THIRD CLASS LUZERNE. l87 



tension of the North Branch canal to a connection with the public 
works of New York, will, above all the rest, afford such an outlet 
as to render the custom of the cities and the country to the south 
and east of minor importance. All western New York, and the im- 
mense lake country, with their numerous towns and long winters, 
will consume any quantity of coal that can be taken out. 

19. The coal land of Wyoming differs from that of the anthmcite 
basins further south. They are in the midst of sterile and rugged 
mountains, while it forms one of the most fertile and pleasant val- 
leys in the Commonwealth. The same acre that gives employment 
to the miner in his proper business, yields him the necessaries of 
life. In addition to this, the whole length of the valley is watered 
by the Susquehanna or the Lackawanna, thus affording, either by 
natural or artificial navigation, a ready means of transporting to 
market the coal, which may be 7-un down to their banks for ship- 
ment, on short railroads, requiring no power and little cost. 

20. The veins are of great thickness, some of them reaching thirty 
feet, with a fcAv intervening thin layers of slate ; and the coal, owang 
to its great hardness, bears the process of transportation to market, 
and the various transhipments, with less loss than any other. 

21. Harvey^ s Lake, in the north-western part of the county, is a 
beautiful sheet of water, about 3 miles long. It is in a wild region, 
abounding in game. Chapman's, and Upper and Lower Crystal 
lakes are in the north-east. 

22. HisTORT. — Previous to the time of Penn's settlement of the 
province, a tribe of the Shawanees occupied the western part of the 
Valley of Wyoming, still called the "Shawnee flats." About 1740, 
a band of the Delawares, excluded from their residence on their own 
river by the encroachments of the whites, established a town called 
Waiomink, said to mean large meadows, just below the present town 
of Wilkesbarre. Before that time, the valley seems to have been a 
favourite hunting-ground of the Five Nations and other tribes. In 
1742, they were visited by Count Zinzendorf, who established a Mo- 
ravian mission. Soon afterwards, the Shawanees were expelled by 
the Delawares, and retired to the Ohio. After Braddock's defeat, in 
1755, all the Delawares of this region, except such as had been 
converted by the Moravians, still soured at having been driven from 
their old home, took part with the French, but were for a time pa- 
cified by Sir William Johnson. 

23. In 1754, certain citizens of Connecticut, advancing a claim to 
the whole northern part of Pennsylvania under their charter from King 
Charles the Second, purchased Wyoming Valley from some chiefs 
of the Six Nations assembled in Albany, and explored the country. 
In 1762, 203 settlers from Connecticut arrived, and after making 
a few improvements, returned to that state for the winter. Next 
year they came back with their families, but in consequence of 
the murder of the noted chief, Teedyuscund, which was wrongfully 
charged on them, they were attacked in the fall by the Indians, and 

19. What of the coal-land? I 22. Repeat the Indian history of thevalley. 

20. Of the veins and the coal? 23. State the origin of the Connecticut 

21. Of Harvey'' s Lake? \ claim, and settlement. 



188 



STATE-BOOK 01» PENNSYLVANIA. 



compelled, after losing 20 men, to abandon the settlement. Peace 
with France took place in 1763. 

24. In 1768, the proprietaries of Pennsylvania purchased from 
the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, near Oneida lake in New York, all 
the remaining Indian land in north-eastern Pennsylvania. This 
included Wyoming. In the same year, Pennsylvania settlers, under 
proprietary grants, arrived, and laid out two " manors," one on each 
side of the S^^squehanna, including the improvements formerly 
made by the Connecticut men. Early next year, about 40 Con- 
necticut men arrived to resume the settlement. From that time, 
each party being occasionally re-inforced by fresh arrivals of their 
friends, a scene of constant controversy, sometimes proceeding to 
bloodshed, succeeded; and both the governments of Pennsylvania 
and Connecticut took part in the dispute. Connecticut recognised 
Wyoming as a part of that state, and attached it to the county of 
Litchfield, under the name of Westmoreland ; while Pennsylvania, on 
the other hand, sent out civil otficers supported by troops to expel 
the intruders. During these contests, several forts were constructed, 
and many sieges and skirmishes took place. This state of things 
lasted till the opening of the Revolution. 

25. That event compelled both parties to unite for the common 
defence against the British and their Indian allies. In the contest, 
the Six Nations and most of the unconverted Delawares took the 
British side, causing the converted or Moravian Delawares to be 
suspected by the colonists. The civil war being thus suspended, 
Wyoming, which had become quite populous in the midst of all con- 
tentions, sent forth nearly all her able-bodied men in the common 
cause. 

26. In June, 1778, while in this defenceless condition, the settlement 
was attacked by a large body of British and Indians, the former un- 
der Col. John Jlutlcr, and the latter, under the famous Mohawk chief, 
Brant, whose Indian name was Thaycndancgea. The result is,known. 
After a brave resistance, chiefly by old men and boys, an almost 
general massacre took place. The few wretched survivors, now 
principally widows, with their orphan children, traversed the deso- 
late wilderness of the Great Swamp, or " Shades of Death," crossed 
the bleak summit of Pokono, and at last found rest and protection 
at what is now Stroudsburg, in Monroe county. 

27. The same autumn Captain Spalding, Avith troops from Strouds- 
burg, rebuilt the fort at Wilkesbarre, and recovered possession of 
the valley. In 1779, General Sullivan's expedition against the north- 
ern Indians removed all further danger from that source. 

28. As soon as independence was achieved, the old feud between 
the Connecticut and the Pennsylvania settlers, or the Yankees and 
the Pcanamiles, as they were then called, broke out in all its former 
fury. But in 1782, the question of original title was decided at 
Trenton in favour of Pennsylvania, after full and fair investigation, 
by commissioners appointed by Congress. 



24. Of the Peyinsylcania settlement., and 
of the controversy. 

25. What put a stop to the latter? 
2(). What happened in XllS? 



27. What happened that autumn, and 
in 1779? 

28. When did the controversy revive, and 
how ivns it finally terminated? 



THIRD CLASS LUZERNE. 189 

29. In 1784, the destructive ice-flood on the Susquehanna, laid 
waste Wyoming, the ice having formed a dam in the gorge of the 
river at the lower end of the valley, by which all the bottom lands 
were inundated. In 1786, the county was erected, taking its name 
from the Chevalier cle la Luzerne, at that time minister from France 
to the United States government. In 1799 and 1801, laws for the 
final settlement of all private claims and disputes still existing 
among the Connecticut and Pennsylvania settlers were passed by 
the legislature of this state. In 1810, Bradford M^as erected into a 
separate county, and part of it taken from Luzerne. The same year, 
Susquehanna was taken off, and in 1842, Luzerne was reduced to lis 
present bounds by the organization of Wymiiing ; thus not only losing 
territory, but the 7iavie that ought to belong to a soil with which 
it has become associated by so many deeds of toil, of courage, and 
of suffering. 

30. Noted Citizens. — Col. Zebulon Butler, the leader of the set- 
tlers in the battle of 3d July, 1778, M^as a brave officer in the Revo- 
lutionaiy army. He was born in Connecticut in 1731, and died in 
Luzerne in 1795. Col. Dennison, the second in command, was also 
a gallant soldier. He was also born in Connecticut in 1741, and 
died in Luzerne in 1809. The descendants of both still reside in the 
valley. Genl. William Ross was born in Connecticut in 1760, and 
died in Luzerne in 1842. He was not in the battle, having gone in 
pursuit of some Indians a few days before. He took an active part 
in support of the state authority after the Revolution, and was greatly 
esteemed for his modesty and worth. Col. Timothy Pickering, though 
a native of Massachusetts, was for many^ears a citizen of Luzerne, 
which he represented in the Convention that framed the state Con- 
stitution of 1790. During the Revolution, he had been an aid-de- 
camp to General Washington, and in 1787 was sent by the govern- 
ment of Pennsylvania to use his influence in restoring order in 
Luzerne, which had the year before been erected into a county. He 
held many offices under the national government. He was born in 
1745, and died in 1829. Judge Ohadiah Gore, a blacksmith by trade, 
was the first, in 1769, to use the Wyoming coal. He was a Con- 
necticut settler. After that time, the blacksmiths of Wilkesbarre 
continued to use it. Judge Jesse Fell successfully employed it in a 
nail factory about 1800. In 1808, he also succeeded in causing it 
to hum in a grate in a common fire-place. From that time, it came 
into general use as a fuel for domestic purposes. 

29. What events occurred between 1784 I 30. Na?ne the noted citizens, 
and lSi2? 



190 



STATE-BOOK <5f PENNSYLVANIA. 



WYOMING COUNTY. 




4i';jo:'N. 



1 TunkhannocX. 

2 Buttermilk Falls. 
Exeter. 

4Scottsville. 



1. Wyoming, a north-eastern mountain county^ is 
bounded N. by Susquehanna, W. by Bradford and Lycom- 
ing, and S. and E. by Luzerne. Jirea 400 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are the terminating hills and irregular 
spurs of the great Allegheny^ the chief of which are, 
Ma-hoo'pe-?iy, Big and Little Mahoopeny, Tunk-han'iiock, 
Bowma7ih^ and Knoh mountains. 

3. The Streams are, the JVb/'^/i Branchy crossing from 
the north-west to the south-east ; and Tunkhannock, Falls, 
Me-shop'pen, and Tuscarora creeks, flowing into it on the 
east, and Big and Little Mahoopeny, and Bowman^ s on the 
west. 

4. The Soil is tolerably good. Along the streams there 
are alluvial bottoms of great fertility. Much of the high 
table laiid and of the hill sides, is well adapted for pasture 
and some of the coarser grains. One half of the county 
may ultimately become cultivated. 

5. No valuable Minerals have yet been discovered. 

6. Wyoming contains 13 townships, 1 borough, and a 
few growing villages. 

7. The Borough is Tunkhannock, the county-seat, on 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Wyoming ? 

2. Its mountains ? 

3. Streams? 
4.. Soil? 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, and 
villages? 

7. Name the county-town, borough, 
and villages. 



THIRD CLASS WYOMING. 



191 



the east side of the Susquehanna at tUe mouth of Tunk- 
hannock creek, with about 300 inhabitants. Buttermilk 
Falls, Exeter, and Scottsville, are small villages on the 
Susquehanna. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the unfinished JYorth 
Branch canal, and a turnpike from Wilkesbarre through 
Tunkhannock to Montrose, in Susquehanna county. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 8500, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $877,782. 

10. The early settlers were from Connecticut, and at 
present most of the citizens are of New England origin. 

11. Their chief pursuits are agriculture and lumbering; 
and their productions are some wheat and corn, with con- 
siderable quantities of oats, potatoes, and cattle, and a 
large amount of lumber. 

12. The Literary Institutions are 42 common schools. 

13. Wyoming with Susquehanna, elects, 2 members to 
the House of Representatives, and with Susquehanna and 
Wayne, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Luzerne and 
Columbia, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the eleventh 
judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Braintrim, Clinton, Eaton, Exeter, Falls, 
Forkston, Mahoopoiy, Monroe, Nicholson, Northumberland, Tunkhannock, 
}Vashingto)t, and II Indham. 

15. Tunkhannock, so called from the Indian name of the creek 
near which it is situated, has become a thriving town since it was 
selected as the county-seat in 1842. It was incorporated in 1841, 
and contains the usual county buildings and several churches. It 
is remarkable for its wild mountain scenery. The Tunkhannock 
valley above it on the creek, is thickly settled, and affords the town 
considerable support. The lumber business also adds largely to its 
trade. Should the North Branch canal, which passes through the 
place, be completed, it will very much promote the prosperity of the 
county-seat. It is 146 miles N. E. of Harrisburg and 142 N. W. of 
Philadelphia. 

16. At Buttermilk Falls, near the mouth of Falls creek, there is a 
thriving village. This place is remarkable for its water-falls and 
immense unimproved water-power. 

17. HisTonr. — Before the close of the Revolutionary war, it is 



8. Public improvements? 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. AVho settled the county? 

11. What are tlieir chief pursuits and 
productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 



13. How is it represented, and in what 
judicial district is it ? 

14. Name the totonships. 

15. Describe Tunkhannock. 

16. WTiat of Buttermilk Falls ? 

17. Repeat the history of the county, with 
dates? 



192 STATE-BOOK OF* PENNSYLVANIA. 

not probable that any permanent settlements were made in the 
bounds of Wyoming. It may be, however, that some attempts 
were made after the peace with France in 1763, and the extinguish- 
ment of the Indian title to the lands in 1768. If such were the 
case, the settlers were no doubt driven off by the British and In- 
dian incursions of 1778. In 1779, Sullivan's expedition mainly 
removed this obstacle, but not altogelher; for we learn from Major 
Moses Van Campen's Narrative, that his famous escape from his 
Indian captors took place within the present bounds of Wyoming, 
in 1780. It is at all events certain, that immediately after the close 
of the Revolution, Connecticut settlers began to occupy this por- 
tion of the state, believing it to be within the bounds of their claim. 
About the same time, the well-known John Nicholso)i, the great land 
speculator, formed a settlement in the township that still bears his 
name. As early as 1788, a permanent establishment was made at 
the place where the county-seat now stands. From that time till 
nearly the present, as a part of Luzerne, this county shared the 
fortunes, was embraced in the history, and distinguished by the 
men of the mother county. In 1842 it was separately organized, 
assuming the name of the celebrated valley which constitutes both 
the historical and physical wealth of Luzerne. 



FOURTH CLASS PERRY. 



193 



FOURTH CLASS. 



PERRY COUNTY, 




1. Perry, an iroji mountain county, is bounded E. by 
Dauphin, N. W. by Juniata, S. W. by FrankJiii, and S. by 
Cumberland. .'Le^r, 540 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the Kittatinny, forming the south- 
ern boundary, and the Tus-ca-ro'ra the northern, with a 
number of smaller ridges or hills between. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna river, dividing it 
from Dauphin on the east, and the Ju-ni-at'a^ crossing its 
north-eastern corner into the Susquehanna : the C7'eeks 
are, Sherman^s, Little Juniata, and Fishing, falling into the 
Susquehanna ; and Buff'alo, Little Buffalo, Racoon, and 
Co-cal'am-us, into the Juniata. 



1. What are the 
and area of Perry ? 



class, boundaries. 



17 



2. Name the mountains. 

3. Streams. 



194 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



4. The Soil is various. The limestone and slate land, 
which form the northern accompaniment of the Kittatinny 
throughout nearly its whole course, are highly fertile. The 
rest of the county, except the mountains and broken ridges, 
is moderately fertile. More than one-half of its area may 
be cultivated. 

5. The Minerals are iron-ore, in great quantities, and 
limestone. 

6. Perry contains, 15 townships, 8 boroughs, and some 
growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Bloomfield, the county-seat, near 
the Little Juniata, with 412 inhbaitants ; Millerstown, 
Liverpool, Newport, Petersburg, Buffalo, Landishurg, and 
JVetfj Germantown ; and the villages are Ick'es-burg, Dun- 
cannon, &c. 

8. The Public Improvements are the Susquehanna ca- 
nal, from the mouth of the Juniata at Duncan's island, up 
the eastern line of the county, and the Juniata canal from 
the same point up the Juniata ; the northern turnpike, from 
Duncan's island along the Juniata; and several large 
bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 17,096 ; and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $2,895,758. 

10. The First Settlers were Scotch- hish. Many 
Germans have since established themselves, and gene- 
rally use their own language. 

11. Their chief employments are agriculture and .the 
manufacture of iron. There are a number of furnaces, 
rolling-mills, forges, and nail factories in the county. 

12. The productions are grain, cattle, pork, and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, 100 
common, and some private schools. There are about 30 
churches in the county. 

14. Perry elects 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, wdth Cumberland, 1 to the Senate of the state; 



4. Soil. 

5. Minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7 Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 
6. The public improvements. 



9. AVhat are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Perry ? 

11. What are their chief pursuits? 

12. Productions ? 

1.3. Literary institutions ? 
14. How is it represented, and what is 
the judicial district? 



FOURTH CLASS PERRY. 



195 



with Cumberland and Franklin, 1 member of Congress; 
and is in the ninth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Buffalo, Carrol, Centre, Jackson, Greenwood, 
Juniata, Liverpool, Madison, Oliver, Penn, Rye, Saville, Toboyne, Tyrone, 
and Whcatfield. 

16. Bloomfield is handsomely situated in a narrow fertile valley- 
near the centre of the county. It was laid out in 1825, and incor- 
porated as a borough in 1831. The tract of land on which the town 
is built was called " Bloomfield," in the ori^'inal patent or grant 
Irom the state to the first settler. Hence the name of the town. It 
contains the requisite county buildings, 4 churches, and an academy. 
It is 25 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 123 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 
185 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. The practice of giving distinct names to estates, or tracts of 
land belonging to families, is general in the countries of Europe. It 
does not suit our habits or institutions. There, an estate, owing to 
the rights of primogeniture, will remain for many centuries undi- 
vided in the same name and family. Here, owing to the equal claim 
which each child has in the estate of the parent, and to the fact 
that land is liable to be sold for the payment of debts, real estate, 
(which means houses and lands,) either soon becomes divided or 
passes altogether into other hands. Thus the name either becomes 
lost by the subdivision of the estate, or is forgotten by some new 
purchaser. 

18. The custom of naming tracts was attempted to be adopted 
under the provincial government, in issuing the patents, as in the 
case of Bloomfield, but did not succeed. Where the names thus 
given have survived at all, they have lost their exclusive applica- 
tion, and are only heard in the common name of some township or 
village. 

19. Liverpool, on the Susquehanna, 14 miles above Duncan's 
island, has 454 inhabitants, and is the largest town in the county. 
There are extensive iron-works in the vicinity, which, with the 
trade of the state canal that passes in front of it, afford a lively 
business. 

20. Newport and Millerstown, on opposite sides of the Juniata, 
are flourishing towns with over 400 inhabitants each. Below the 
latter, is the rope-ferry of the Juniata canal, at which the canal boats 
are drawn across a dam in the Juniata, by an ingenious application 
of the water-power of the river. 

21. Duncannon is a busy manufacturing village, at the mouth of 
Sherman's creek. An extensive rolling-mill, nail-factory, and other 
works belong to this establishment. 

22. Near I.andisburg, about 8 miles south-west of Bloomfield, in 
Sherman's Valley, the county poor-house is situated. 



15. Name the townships. 

Iti. Describe. Bloomfield. 

17. What is said of natning estates ? 

IS. What has been the effect here ? 

W What is said of Liverpool f 



20. Of NeM'port, Millerstown, and the 
Bxipe-ferry ? 

21. Of Duncannon? 

22. OfLandisbur-^? 



196 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



23. Sherman^s Valley, so often named in early times as the scene 
of many adventures in the contests with the Indians, lies along the 
northern base of the Kittatinny, and is watered by a beautiful creek, 
which takes the name of the valley. It is mostly limestone land, 
and though the surface is very broken and irregular, it presents the 
appearance of a quiet and thriving settlement. 

24. The scenery along the Perry bank of the Susquehanna, and 
on the Juniata, is grand and beautiful. At Duncan's island and 
Liverpool, especially, the mountains and the river present views 
scarcely surpassed even by the storied localities of the Old World. 
The heights, it is true, are not crowned by ancient and picturesque 
ruins, neither are the streams the dividing-line between princes 
whose past struggles for power have associated with them the 
legends of chivalry. But they remain in all their native beauty 
and grandeur, unchanged, except so far as human ingenuity has 
applied their resources to the promotion of human happiness. They 
remain a type of what our country's history should be, with no 
change recorded, except for the common good; no monument 
erected except to virtue. 

25. History. — About 1730, Cumberland began to be permanently 
settled. In 1750, when erected into a county, it contained within its 
then bounds about 3000 inhabitants. Sometime during the interval 
between these dates, the Scotch-Irish of Cumberland Valley, began 
to pass through Sterrel^s and other gaps in the Kittatinny, and es- 
tablish themselves in Sherman^ Valley. So late as 1745, there was 
a noted Indian town on the '^ Juneauta, (now Duncan's) ts/a«c?," in 
the mouth of the Juniata. For several years after Braddock's de- 
feat, in 1755, at which time the settlers in Sherman's Valley had 
become numerous, many were killed by the Indians, and the survi- 
vors kept in constant alarm. This state of things was terminated in 
1764, by Colonel Bouquet's defeat of the Indians at Brushy run, in 
the west. From that period the county increased slowly but regu- 
larly in population and improvements, forming a portion, and shar- 
ing the prosperity of " mother Cumberland." During this period a 
large number of German settlers added themselves to the popula- 
tion. In 1820, Perry, honouring herself with the name of the hero 
of Lake Erie, was erected into a separate county. Since that event 
her population and prosperity have been much promoted, by the 
establishment of numerous iron-works, for the successful prosecu- 
tion of which business, the abundance and excellence of her iron- 
ore, and the plenty and cheapness of wood for charcoal, afford 
many advantages. 

23. Of Shei man's Valley? I 25. Relate the history of Perry, with the 

24. Of the scenery? \ dates. 



FOURTH CLASS — JUNIATA. 



197 



JUNIATA COUNTY. 




1. Juniata, an h'on mountain county, is bounded E. by 
Northumberland, N. by Union, N. W. by Mifflin, S. W. 
by Huntingdon, and S. E. by Perry. Area^ 350 square 
miles. 

2. The Mountains are, Tuscarora and Turkey moun- 
tains, its boundaries on the S. E., and Shade and Black 
Log on the N. W. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna^ which divides 
it for a short distance from Northumberland on the E., the 
Juniata crossing its centre, and Tuscarora^ Lost, Lickings 
and Co-cal'a-mus creeks emptying into the Juniata, and 
west Ma-han-ton' go into the Susquehanna. 

4. The Soil of the Limestone and Slate valleys is quite 
productive. The rest of the county, consisting chiefly of 
steep mountains and ridges, is sterile. About one-half 
of its area is fit for cultivation. 

5. The Minerals are, iron-ore and limestone. 

6. Juniata contains 10 townships, 3 boroughs, and a 
number of villages. 



1 What are tlie class, boundaries, and 
area of Juniata? 
a. What are the mountains? 
3. Streams? 

17 



4. Roil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many 
and villages? 

* 



townships, boroughs, 



198 



STATE- BOOK Of PENNSYLVANIA. 



7. The Boroughs are, Mifflintown^ the county-seat, on 
the Juniata, with 420 inhabitants, Waterford and Perry- 
ville; and the villages are, Thompsontown^ Mexico, Tarn- 
many town, Calhounville, and Waterloo. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Juniata canal, 
which passes along the north bank of the river ; the north- 
ern turnpike alongside of it, and two large bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 11,080, and the as- 
sessed value oi property, in 1845, was $2,498,930. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were Scotch-Irish. These 
have since been followed by considerable numbers of 
Germans. 

11. Their chief employment is agriculture, iron-works 
not having yet been established. 

12. Their Productions are, grain of all kinds, cattle^ 
and pork. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
54 common schools. 

14. Juniata elects, with Union, 2 members to the House 
of Representatives, with Mifflin and Union, 1 to the Senate 
of the state, and with Centre, Huntingdon, Blair, and Mifflin, 
1 member of Congress; and is in the ninth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Beak, Delaware, Fayette, Fermanagh^ 
Greenwood, Lack, Milfnrd, Turbet, Tuscarora, and Walker. 

16. Mifflintoivn occupies an elevated situation on the bank of the 
Juniata. It became the county-town in 1831, deriving its name from 
that of Governor Mifflin and the old county of Mifflin, in which it 
was included when laid out, which was about 1791. It has much 
improved since Juniata was organized, and the county business 
centred in it. It contains a court-house and jail, with an academy 
and 3 churches, and has a substantial bridge over the Juniata. It 
was incorporated in 1833, and is 43 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 
141 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 165 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Thompsontown and Perryville are thriving places, the former 
9 miles below Mifflintown, on the north bank of the Juniata, and the 
latter on the opposite side, about 2 miles below the same place. 
There is a noble bridge over the Juniata at Perryville, and the 
mountain view below the town is remarkably fine. This, however, 
is the character of the whole scenery on the river. 



7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Juniata? 

11. What is their chief employment? 



12. Their productions ? 

13. Their literary institutions? 

14. How is it represented, and what is 
the judicial district? 

15. Name the totvnships. 

16. Describe Mifflintoivn. 

17. Thompsnntoivn and Penyville. 



FOURTH CLASS MIFFLIN. 



199 



18. Though Juniata is in the iron mountain region of the state, 
she yet has no iron-works. But she possesses all the requisites for 
the prosecution of the business. 

19. HisTouY. — The first settlements in Tuscarora Valley, which 
constitutes the large south-western portion of the present county of 
Jnniata, were made about 1749. The enterprising Scotch-Irish of 
Cumberland Valley were the pioneers. Some passed over the Kit- 
tatinny, crossing the present county of Perry, from the Carlisle set- 
tlement; Avhile others arrived from the Conecocheague settlement, 
now P'ranklin county. At first, they experienced the usual losses, 
and suffered the usual hardships of all who occupied the out- 
posts on the Indian frontier. But they finally made good their 
footing in the beautiful valleys of the Juniata ; and their descendants, 
now mingled with many industrious German settlers, enjoy the fruits 
of their hazardous enterprise. Juniata long petitioned the legisla- 
ture for a separation from Mifflin county, which at length took place 
in 1831, and seems much to have promoted her prosperity and con- 
venience without detriment to the old county. She of course as- 
sj.imed the Indian name of her romantic river. 



MIFFLIN COUNTY. 



1 Lewistown. 
a McVeytown. 
3 HamiltonvUle. 
i Horrelstown. 
S BeUeviUe. 
Reedsville. 



UNION 




501 W. 



1. Mifflin, an iron mountain county, is hounded E. by 
Union, N. W. by Centre, W. by Huntingdon, and S. E. 
by Juniata. Area^ 370 square miles. 



18 What is said of the iron-business ? I 1. What are the class, boundaries, 
19. Rqpeat the history vf Juniata, with | and area of Mifflin? 
the dates. 



200 



STATE-BOOK Ol" PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. The Mountains are, Shade and Black Log on the 
S. E. boundary, Stone and Patfi Valley, or Seven moun- 
tains, on the N. W., and Jack^s mountain in the middle. 

3. The Streams are, the Juniata river, flowing through 
the south-western part of the county, into which Kishicoquil- 
las* and Jackh creeks empty on the north, and Licking 

'^ creek, through Tuscarora in Juniata county, on the south. 

4. The Soil of the limestone valleys, especially that of 
Kishicoquillas, is remarkably fertile. Slate and shale soils, 
where they occur, are also easily improved. The moun- 
tains are barren. Fully one-half oiih.^ county is tillable. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, great quantities of ex- 
cellent iron-ore and limestone. 

6. Mifflin contains 9 townships , 3 boroughs, and a num- 
ber of growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Lewistown, the seat of justice on 
the Juniata, with 2058 inhabitants, McVeytown and Hamil- 
tonville ; and the villages are, Horrelstown, Belleville, Reed- 
ville, and Allenville. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Juniata canal, 
following that stream through the county ; the northern 
turnpike taking the same direction ; and the Bellefonte and 
Erie turnpike, which diverges from the northern turnpike 
at Lewistown. 

9. The Population of Mifflin, in 1840, was } 3,092; 
and the assessed value oi property, in 1845, $3,827,454. 

10. The first Settlers were Scotch- Irish, who were 
followed by many Germans from the lower counties. The 
latter still use their own language. 

11. Their chief pursuits are, agriculture and the iron- 
business. There are some other manufactories, and a large 
number o^ flour -mills. 

12. The Productions are, grain, cattle, pork, and iron 
in large quantities. 

* Kishicoquillas, pronounced Kish-a-cok'iUas. 



2. Name the mountains. 

3. Streams. 

4. Describe the soil. 

5. Tiie minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs and 
villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages , 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled county ? 

11. What are their chief pursuits? 

12. Their productions ? 



FOURTH CLASS MIFFLIN. 



201 



13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
43 common schools. Education seems to prosper. 

14. Mifflin c/cds 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, with Juniata and Union, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Juniata, Huntingdon, Blair, and Centre, 1 
member of Congress; and is in the twentieth judicial 
district. 

15. The Townships are, Armagh, Brown, Decatur, Derry, Granville, 
Menno, Oliver, Union, and Wayne. 

16. Lewistown, one of the busiest and most prosperous towns in 
the state, occupies an elevated position on the north bank of the 
Juniata at the mouth of the Kishicoquillas creek. It is a well-built 
town, with a spacious new court-house, and the other county-build- 
ings, 7 churches, an academy, bank, two founderies, a woollen and 
axe factory, and a large flour-mill. Its advantageous position, with 
reference to canals, turnpikes, and a rich agricultural and iron re- 
gion, has caused, and will continue to increase, its prosperity. It 
was laid out m 1790, taking its name from William Zcd-tV, a member 
of the legislature from Philadelphia, who exerted himself to have it 
made the county-seat, in opposition to Mifflintown, now in Juniata 
county. It was first incorporated in 1795, and is 55 miles N. W. of 
Harrisburg, 153 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 154 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. McVeytoxvn, formerly called Waynesburg, is a thriving place, 
with 348 inhabitants, on the Juniata, 11 miles above liCwistown. It 
contains 2 churches, and has a furnace, foundery, and forge in tlie 
vicinity. 

18. Bamih'onville, or 'Newton Hamilton, also on the canal, 10 miles 
above McVeytown, is situated near a remarkable bend in the river, 
where, after a south-eastern course of several miles, it turns sud- 
denly to the north-west and approaches within a few hundred yards 
of its channel above the bend. A short distance above this point is 
the wild Gap through which the river passes Jack's mountain. 

19. Below Lewistown is the singular reach of the river called 
the " Long Narrows" It is a mere straight trough, 4 miles in length, 
and completely occupied by the Juniata, with Black Log on one 
hand, and Shade mountain on the other. Few scenes present a 
more wild or grand appearance. 

20. There is a number of caves in the limestone rocks of Mifflin. 
HenarmlTs cave, near McVeytown, is large, and frequently contains 
crude saltpetre. Alexander's cave is in Kishicoquillas Valley, and 
abounds in calcareous concretions. 

21. Kishicoquillas Valley is one of the richest and best improved 
agricultural regions in the interior of the state, and is noted for the 
abundance and excellence of its wheat and corn. It is about 



13. Their literary institutions? 

14. How is Mifflin represented, and 
wliat is the judicial district? 

15. Name thn townships. 

16. Describe Letoistotvn. 



17. McVeytoton. 

IS. Hmniltonville arid vicinity. 

19. The Long Narrows. 

20 The raves. 

21. Kishicoquillas Valley. 



202 STATE-BOOK of PENNSYLVANIA. 



30 miles long and 3 wide, lying north-west of Jack's mountain, and 
is chiefly settled by Germans from Lancaster and the older south- 
eastern counties. It is drained by Kishicoquillas creek, which breaks 
through the mountain, and falls into the Juniata at Lewistown. 

22. South-east of Jack's mountain is the no less fertile Valley of 
Lewistown, which, is divided into several smaller ones, through which 
the beautiful Juniata pursues its winding course. 

23. There are a considerable number of furnaces, forges, founder- 
ies, and other works for the manufacture of iron in various parts of 
Mifflin. For the profitable prosecution of this useful branch .of in- 
dustry, she possesses unusual advantages, having, in addition to 
abundance of the best ore, and of charcoal and limestone, a con- 
stant and cheap conveyance for the article to market, by means of 
the state canals and railroads. 

24. History. — About 1755, some of the daring Scotch-Irish pio- 
neers from Conecocheague, (now Franklin,) reached the valley of 
Mifflin by way of Aughwick creek. A settlement was made that 
year near where Lewistown now stands. This was broken up by 
the Indians and French in 1756. After the Indian title was extin- 
guished in 1768, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, the settlers returned. 
In 1769, Kishicoquillas Valley, so called after an Indian chief of that 
name who resided there, was first settled, as was the south-western 
part of the county. The celebrated Logan, the " Mingo chief," son 
of Shikellimus, chief of the Senecas, had his lodge a number of 
years on Kishicoquillas creek, near its Gap through Jack's moun- 
tain. He was the friend of the white men; yet "all of his blood" 
were afterwards murdered by them on the Ohio. During the Revo- 
lutionary war, this secluded settlement does not seem to have been 
disturbed. In 1789, Mifflin, deriving its name from the then presi- 
dent, and subsequently governor of the state, was erected into a 
county out of parts of Northumberland and Cumberland. In 1791, 
a considerable contention occurred between the people of*Hunting- 
don and Mifflin about the boundary between the counties ; which, how- 
ever, was finally settled without bloodshed. No other event of interest 
occurred till 1829, when the state canal was completed as far as 
Lewistown, which, together with the establishment of numerous 
iron-works, has since greatly promoted the prosperity of the county. 
In 1831 Juniata was taken off, and Mifflin thus reduced to its pre- 
sent limits. 

25. Noted Citizens. — William Brownwas the first settler in Kishi- 
coquillas Valley, and continued to be one of the associate judges of 
Mifflin till his death, at the age of 91. Arthur Buchanan was proba- 
bly the first settler in the neighbourhood of Lewistown. He took 
up the land in 1755, for which a warrant issued in 1762. 

22. Leivistown Valley. I 24. Repeat the history of the county, with 

23. What is said of the iron-business? \ dates. 

25. Name the noted citizetis. 



FOURTH CLASS BEDFORD. 



203 



BEDFORD COUNTY. 




1. Bedford, an iron mountain county, is hounded E. 
by Franklin, N. by Huntingdon and Blair, W. by Somer- 
set, and S. by Maryland. Area^ 1300 square miles. 

2. In crossing the county from east to west, the follow- 
ing Mountains are met, viz., Cove^ Scruh^ Sideling, 
Ray''s, Clear, Warrior, Tussey^s, Evifs, Dunning''s, Wills\ 
Chestnut, and the Great Allegheny forming its western 
boundary. In the northern part is Broad-top mountain. 
It is perhaps the most mountainous county in the state. 

3. The Streams are, the Raystown Branch of the Juni- 
ata in the north, and a number of mountain streams flow- 
ing to the Potomac in the south. 

4. The Soil is very various. Many of the valleys are 
of the richest limestone. The shale, slate, and sandstone 
lands, where sufficiently level for tillage, are less fertile, 
but susceptible of much improvement. One-half of the 
county is rocky mountain, unfit for cultivation. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, iron-ore, limestone, and 
bituminous coal ; the latter in Broad-top mountain. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Bedford ? 

2. Name the mountains. 



J. The streams. 

I. Describe the soil. 

5. What are the minerals? 



204 



STATE-BOOK OlP PENNSYLVANIA. 



6. Bedford contains 22 townships, 3 boroughs, and a 
number of thriving villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Bedford, the seat of justice, near 
the Raystown Branch, with 1022 inhabitants, McConnells- 
town, and Schellsburg ; the villages are, Woodbury, Sto- 
nerstown, Rainsburg, Bloody-run, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the turnpikes from 
Bedford to Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Somerset. There 
are neither canals nor railroad^ in the county. 

9. The Population, in 1840, of the territory now com- 
posing Bedford, was 25,089, and the assessed value of 
property, in 1845, was $3,050,000. 

10. The People are mainly of Scotch-Irish and German 
descent. 

11. Their chief Employments are agriculture and the 
iron business. 

12. The Productions are, grain, cattle, timber, iron, 
and some maple-sugar. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, an academy, 
a female seminary, and 185 common schools. 

14. Bedford elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Huntingdon and Blair, 1 to the Senate 
of the state ; with Cambria and Westmoreland, 1 member 
of Congress ; and is in the sixteenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Mr, Bedford, Belfast, Bethel, J^road-top, 
Colerain, Cumberland Valley, Dublin, Harrison, Hopewell, Liberty, Lick- 
ing creek, Londonderry, Monroe, Napier, E. Providence, W. Providence, 
Southampton, St. Clair, Union, South Woodberry, and Middle Woodberry. 

16. The town of Bedford gives name to the county, and is so called 
after old B'ort Bedford, which occupied the same site, but was known 
as Raystoivn till 1763. It is pleasantly placed on a rich limestone 
tract near the head of the Raystown Branch. It is a neat and flou- 
rishing place, and contains a well-built and spacious court-house, 
prison, and public oflices, 3 churches, a woollen factory, and several 
flour-mills. It was first regularly laid out as a town in 1766, though 
occupied at an earlier date, and was incorporated in 1795. Its dis- 
tance from Harrisburg is 102 miles, from Philadelphia 200, and 
from Pittsburg 100. 



6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name them, wiih the county-seat. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. By whom was the county settled ? 



11. What are their employments? 

12. Their productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is Bedford represented, and 
what is its judicial district ? 

15. Name the townships. 

16. Descriiie the tovm of Bedford. 



FOURTH CLASS BEDFORD. 205 



17. In a valley 1^ miles south of the town, are the celebrated " Bed- 
ford Springs.^' The buildings and accommodations arc spacious 
and comfortable, and the surrounding grounds tastefully arranged. 
This delightful spot has for many years been resorted to during the 
sultry summer months, by hundreds in pursuit of health and the pure 
cool air of the mountains. The number has recently so largely in- 
creased, that Bedford bids fair to vie, in this respect, with the most 
favourite places of the kind. 

18. McConnellstown is beautifully situated in a limestone valley, be- 
tween Cove mountain and Scrub ridge, on the turnpike, 28 miles E. 
of Bedford. It contains 2 churches and 486 inhabitants. 

19. Schcllsburg contains 316 inhabitants, and is situated 9 miles 
west of Bedford, on the turnpike leading to Pittsburg. 

20. Nearly all the valleys in Bedfordcounty are of limestone forma 
tion, and consequently fertile. They are generally highly improved. 

21. There are numerous iron furnaces and forges in the county; 
abundance of ore, wood, and limestone, presenting great advantages 
for the prosecution of the iron business. 

22. History. — Long before the Indian title was extinguished, the 
restless cupidity of the whites led them to encroach upon this region. 
In 1750, a number of the cabins of these intruders were burned by 
order of the governor and council. In 1755, the province sent out 
300 men to cut a road from Fort Loudon, in what is now Franklin 
county, across the mountains through Bedford to join Braddock's 
road, west of the Alleghenies. The work was not completed till 1 758, 
when Colonels Bouquet and Washington carried it through by 
means of the large force which General Forbes was leading to the 
capture of Fort Duquesne. From 1773, Fort Bedford, previously 
called Raystown, became the principal depot for military stores, and 
the halting-place for adventurers, between Carlisle and Fort Pitt. 
Thus a small settlement around it commenced. There were at this 
time several other forts in the vicinity, among which were Littleton's, 
Martin's, Piper's, and Wingawn's. By 1770, considerable settle- 
ments had been effected in the county, the first pioneers being from 
Cumberland and Franklin. At the commencement of the Revolu- 
tion, it took a decided stand against the oppressions of the mother 
country, and sent two companies to .Boston. The county was 
erected in 1771. It then included the whole south-west part of the 
state, having previously been part of Cumberland. The establish- 
ment of Westmoreland in 1773, Huntingdon in 1787, Somerset in 
1795, and Blair in 1846, reduced it to its present bounds. During 
and for some years after the Revolution, its citizens were much ha- 
rassed by the Indians. From that period, and until the era of turn- 
pikes, about 1815, its growth was slow. That valuable species of 
improvement added largely to the population, business, and comfort 
of this and the other mountain counties. 

23. Noted Citizexs. — William F7-a2er, recently if not yet living, 



17. Bedford Springs. 

18. McConndhtown. 
If). ScheUsburg. 

20. Wliat is said of the valleys ? 



21. Of the iron b us iness ? 

22. Repeat the history of Bedford, with 
dates. 

23. Name the noted citizens. 



18 



206 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



was the first white child born in the county. His birth took place 
in 1759. Thomas Smith, afterwards a judge of the Supreme Court, 
resided in Bedford at the commencement of the Revolution, and 
efficiently supported the cause of freedom, John Tod, a native of Con- 
necticut, settled as a lawyer in Bedford when young. He was a mem- 
ber of the Senate, and speaker of the House of Representatives of 
the state, a prominent member of Congress, president judge of the 
court, and died in 1830, a judge of the Supreme Court of the state. 



BLAIR COUNTY. 



1 HoUidaysburg. 

2 Martinsburg. 

3 Frankstown. 
i Williamsburg. 
5 Newry. 



CLEARFIELD/ 




io;i5:n, 



C A M B R I A^/p 5 



SOMERSET- 



ED F O R 



1. Blair, an iron mountain county, is hounded IE,, by 
Huntingdon, N. by Huntingdon and Centre, W. by Cam- 
bria, and S. by Bedford, ^rea, 650 square miles. 

2. The chief Mountains are, Tussey^s, forming the east- 
ern, and the Great Allegheny the western, boundary. Be- 
tween these are Lock, Brush, Bald Eagle, and others, 
Blair being a very mountainous county. 

3. The Streams are, the head-waters of the main Ju- 
niata, the principal of which are, the Frankstown Branch, 
Little Juniata, Clover creek, fyc. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Blair ? 



2. Name the mountaijis. 

3. Streams. 



FOURTH CLASS — BLAIR. 207 

4. The Soil resembles that of most of the counties of 
this class. That of the numerous limestone valleys is fer- 
tile, but the mountains are barren. About one-half of the 
county may be fit for tillage or pasture. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, abundance of iron-ore and 
Ibnestone^ with bituminous coal in the Allegheny mountain. 

6. Blair contains 11 townships^ 3 boroughs, and seve- 
ral growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Hollidayshurg, the seat of jus- 
tice, on the Juniata, with 1896 inhabitants, Gaysport and 
Martinshurg ; and the villages are, WilliaTnsburgj Franks- 
town, JVewry, Davidsburg, Laurelville, Ironville, Duncans- 
vilh, Waltershurg, Henryshurg, and Collinsville. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the state-canal along 
the Juniata to Hollidaysburg, where it joins the Portage 
railroad, which extends over the Allegheny mountain to 
Johnstown ; the northern turnpike across the county through 
Hollidaysburg ; and a number of bridges. 

9. The Population of the territory now forming Blair, 
in 1S40, was 20,250, and the assessed value of property, 
in 1845, was $3,440,000. 

10. The first Settlers were mainly Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
mans. Latterly, large numbers from other counties of Penn- 
sylvania, and from other states, have settled in the towns. 

11. Their chief Employments are, agriculture, the iron 
business, and trading on the public works. 

12. Their Productions are, grain, cattle, pork, iron, 
and some coal. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 75 common, 
and some private schools. 

14. Blair elects 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, with Huntingdon and Bedford, 1 to the Senate 
of the state ; wdth Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin, and Juni- 
ata, 1 member of Congress; and is in the sixteenth ju- 
dicial district. 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name them, with the county-seat. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are their chief employ- 
ments? 

12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is Blair represented, and what 
is the judicial district? 



208 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

15. The Townships are, Allegheny, Antis, Blair, Catherine, Franks- 
town, Greenfield, Huston, Snyder, Tyrone,*Woodberry, and South Woodberry, 

16. HoUldaysburg is a large, busy, and growing town on the Juni- 
ata, at the head of canal navigation, and at the eastern end of the 
Allegheny Portage railroad. It was laid out by Adam Holliday, a 
Scotchman and early settler in the county. From him its name is 
taken. In 1830, it only contained 73 inhabitants, but the completion 
of the main line of canal and railroad, soon after, caused it to grow 
with great rapidity. It was incorporated in 1836, and contains 
6 churches, 6 public schools, several founderies, alarge steam flour- 
mill, and a number of immense warehouses and other establish- 
ments connected with the canal trade. It became the seat of justice 
of Blair county in May, 1846, by the selection of the commissioners 
appointed under the act of Assembly, which formed the county ; but 
the county buildings have not yet been erected. It is 115 miles N. W. 
of Harrisburg, 213 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 95 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Gaysport contains about 1000 inhabitants, and is only sepa- 
rated by a small branch of the Juniata from Hollidaysburg. The 
two boroughs in fact form one town. 

18. Franksimcn is on the Juniata, 2^ miles below Hollidaysburg. 
It was an important point on the northern turnpike, before the con- 
struction of the canal. 

19. Williamsbtirg is a flourishing town on the Juniata, 14 miles 
below Hollidaysburg. It has a population of 637, with 5 churches, 
and a number of mills. 

20. Martinsburg is a thriving town in the rich valley, called Mor- 
rison's cove, in the southern part of the county. It contains 422 in- 
habitants. 

21. Sinking-spring Valley contains lead ore, which attracted con- 
siderable attention during the revolutionary war. A fort was then 
erected, and a number of miners were sent out to obtain a supply 
for the army. But, owing to the small quantity produced, and to 
the hostilities of the Indians, the undertaking was soon abandoned. 
The valley derives its name from a considerable stream, called 
Arch spring, which rises in the southern part of Tyrone township, 
and, after flowing northward some miles, sinks into the earth and 
rises again a number of times, and disappears in the mouth of a 
large cave. It is supposed to pass for several miles under Brush 
and Canoe mountains, and to reappear by two branches m Canoe 
valley, whence it falls into the Frankstown branch of the Juniata. 
Sinkmg-spring valley is also noted for the abundance and excel- 
lence of its iron-ore. 

22. Nearly all the valleys that occur among the rugged mountains 
of Blair are of the limestone class, and very productive. They 
generally contain iron-ore of a superior quality, and the surrounding 
mountains are clothed with abundance of timber. The consequence 



15. Name the tmvnships. 

16. Describe Hollidaysburg. 

17. Gaysport. 

18. Frankstoivn. 

19. Williamsburg. 



20. Martinsburg. 

21. Describe Sinking-spring valley. 

22. What is said of the valleys and thi 
iron-works ? 



FOURTH CLASS — HUNTINGDON. 



209 



is, that iron-work.s are very numerous, and add largely to the pros- 
perity of the county. 

23. History. — Previous to 1846, the territory now forming Blair 
was included in the counties of Huntingdon and Bedford, and 
its history is embraced in theirs till that period. The completion 
of the state canal and railroad in 1834 added so largely to its 
population, business, and wealth, as to cause the citizens to 
desire its erection into a separate county. This took place in 
July, 1846, the name of the county being derived from that of 
John Blair, of Blair's gap, who was one of the earliest settlers 
and most worthy citizens of this part of the state. He was a mem- 
ber of the legislature in 1825-6, and warmly advocated the improve- 
ment of the state by canals and railroads. He died aboiit 1828. 



HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 




1. Huntingdon, an iron mountain county, is hounded E. 
by Franklin, Juniata, and Mifflin, N. by Centre, W. by 
Blair, and S. by Bedford. Area, 730 square miles. 



23. Repeat the history of the county. 



18* 



1. What are the class, houiularii-j;. and 
area of Huntinsdon ? 



210 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. The Mountains are, Tuscarora^ between Huntingdon 
and Franklin, next to which are Shade, Black Log, and 
Jade's mountains ; in the south are Sideling-hill, Terrace 
mountain, and Broad-top ; and west of the town of Hunt- 
ingdon are Warrior ridge and Tusseyh mountain, the latter 
forming the boundary of Blair. 

3. The Streams are, the Juniata, into which fall, from 
the south, the Rays town Branch (with its tributary Trough 
creek) and Aughwick creek, and on the north Standing- 
stone, Little Juniata, and other creeks. 

4. The Soil of the numerous limestone valleys is noted 
for its fertility. The greater part of that of the mountains 
is barren, but where shale and slate lands occur, the soil 
is easily improved. Probably one-half of the area of the 
county is fit for cultivation. 

5. The Minerals are, abundance of the most valuable 
iron-ore and of limestone, with bituminous coal in the south- 
ern part, and some hydraulic cement. 

6. Huntingdon contains 19 townships, 5 boroughs, and 
many villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Huntingdon, the seat of justice, 
on the Juniata, with 1145 inhabitants, Alexandria, Peters- 
burg, Shirley sburg, and Birmingham; and the villages are, 
Waterstreet, McConnellsburg, Ennisville, Orbisonia, Smith- 

field, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the state-canal, fol- 
lowing the course of the Juniata across the county; the 
northern turnpike taking the same direction ; and a num- 
ber of substantial bridges. 

9. The Population of the territory now composing 
Huntingdon, was 19,484, in 1840, and the assessed value 
of property, in 1845, was $4,973,085. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
mans, but many have since followed from the other counties 
of the state. 



2. Name its mountains. 

3. Streams. 

4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, and 
villages ? 



7. Name them, with the county town. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county ? 



FOURTH CLASS HUNTINGDON. 211 

11. Their main Pursuits are, agriculture and the manu- 
facture of iron. 

12. The Productions are, grain of all kinds, cattle, 
pork, and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
130 common schools. 

14. Huntingdon elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; with Blair and Bedford, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Blair, Centre, Mifflin, and Juniata, 1 member 
of Congress ; and is in the tw^entieth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Barrd, Cass, Clay, CromivcU, Dublin, Frank- 
lin, Henderson, Hopewell, Jackson, Morris, Porter, Shirley, Springfield, Tell, 
Tod, Union, Walker, Warrior^s mark, and West. 

16. Huntingdon town is delightfully situated on the north bank of 
the Juniata, near the centre of the county. It was laid out a short 
time before the Revolution, by the Rev. William Smith, Provost of 
the University of Pennsylvania. He gave it the present name in 
honour of the Countess of Huntingdon, a pious English lady, who 
had been a liberal donor to the funds of the university, then recently 
established. It had previously been the site of an Indian town, 
called Standing-stone. It was incorporated in 1796, and contains a 
large and commodious brick court-house, a stone prison, and other 
county buildings, 6 churches, and an academy, and has a substan- 
tial bridge across the Juniata. It is a place of considerable busi- 
ness, and is traversed by the Juniata canal, and the northern turn- 
pike ; and is 90 miles N. W.of Harrisburg, 186 N. W. of Philadelphia, 
and 122 E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Alexandria is a handsome town on the north side of the Juni- 
ata, near the mouth of the Little Juniata, 7 miles above Huntingdon. 
It contains 2 churches and 574 inhabitants. 

1 8. Water-street is a village two miles above Alexandria. It is so 
called from the fact that in early days the road passed through a 
gap in Tussey's mountain which was so narrow, for more than a 
mile, that the road was literally in the stream which occupied the 
pass. 

19. Birmingham is a thriving town on Little Juniata, 15 miles 
N. W. of Huntingdon. It cojitains 235 inhabitants, and is in the 
vicinity of the iron-works of Sinking-spring Valley. 

20. Shirleysburg is 16 miles S. of Huntingdon, in Aughwick Valley, 
and contains 247 inhabitants. 

21. The Warm Springs are in the valley of Standing-stone creek. 
It is a place of considerable resort. The water contains magnesia. 



11. AVhat are their main pursuits? 

12. Productions? 

13. liiterary institutions? 

14. How is Huntingdon represented, 
and what is its judicial district? 

15. Name the toiimships. 



16. Describe Huntingdon. 

17. Ale,rat}dria. 

18. Water-street. 

19. Birminsham. 

20. Shirleysburg. 

21. The Wartn Springs. 



212 STATE-BOOK 05» PENNSYLVANIA. 



23. Huntingdon is one of the chief iron counties of the state, for 
the manufacture of which valuable metal, it possesses every advan- 
tage. The ore is of the best quality and in great abundance. Wood, 
for the formation of charcoal, is equally plenty, and limestone is 
found in every township. Water-power, for propelling the neces- 
sary machinery, is abundant, and the fertile soil of the valleys pro- 
duces all the necessaries of life. Added to all this, are the great 
facilities for getting to market, afforded by the public works ; the 
whole forming a combination of advantages not often surpassed. 
The number of iron-works already in operation is consequently 
considerable, and will beyond all doubt increase. 

23. History. — The first attempt to settle Huntingdon county 
seems to have been made by certain intruders upon the Indians in 
1749. Their cabins were burned by order of the provincial authori- 
ties in 1750. Fort Shirley, in the southern part of the county, was 
built in 1756, but few permanent settlements seem to have been 
made till after the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1688. Immediately 
after that event, the Scotch-Irish from Cumberland Valley entered 
the county in considerable numbers. They held their ground 
through all the Indian hostilities of the Revolutionary war. During 
that contest an attempt was made to obtain lead for the supply of 
the army from the mines in Sinking-spring Valley, now in Blair 
county. Considerable labour and money were expended, but with- 
out much success. In 1787, the county was erected, having before 
formed part of Bedford, and took its name from the town of Hunt- 
ingdon. About 1795, the iron business was introduced, and much 
promoted the prosperity of the county. In 1804, part of Cambria 
was taken off its western side. In 1840, there were 47 iron-works 
in Huntingdon, with a capital of $780,000, employing 1357 men. 
In 1846, Huntingdon lost more than one-third of its territory on the 
west by the formation of Blair, but is still one of the most important 
and flourishing counties of its class. •• 

24. Noted Citizens. — Hugh Brady, at present a distinguished 
brigadier-general in the United States army, was born at Standing- 
stone (now Huntingdon) in 1768, and entered the United States ser- 
vice as lieutenant in 1792. He served under Wayne in his western 
campaigns against the Indians, and greatly distinguished himself 
by his gallantry and bravery during the war of 1812. He is the son. 
of John Brady, who was killed by the Indians, in Lycoming county, 
during the Revolution, and brother of Samuel Brady, the famous cap- 
tain of the scouts, who died in 1795, in his 39th year, at West 
Liberty, Ohio county, Virginia. 

22. The resources of the cotmty. I 2i. Name the most noted citizen. 

23. Repeat its history, with dates. \ 



FOURTH CLASS CENTRE. 



213 



CENTRE COUNTY. 



fi Earlysburg. 

6 Milheini. 

7 AaronsburR. 

8 WalkersviUe. 




1. Centre, an i7'o?i mountain county, is bounded E. by 
Union, N. by Clinton, W. by Clearfield, S. by Hunting- 
don, and S. E. by Mifflin, ^rea, 1000 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are. Path-valley mountain on the 
S. E., and then Brush and JYit'ta-ny ; Bald Eagle in the 
centre, and the Great Allegheny on the N. W. 

3. The Streams are, the West Branch on the N. W. 
line, into which flow Bald Eagle ^ Penn^s, Mo-shan'on, and 
other creeks. 

4. The Soil is very various. The mountains are sterile 
and generally unfit for cultivation, while the intervening 
limestone valleys are equal to any land in the state. Want 
of water in some parts is their only defect. More than 
one-half of it is tillable land. 

5. The chief Minerals are, iron-ore, of excellent qua- 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I .3. Streams? 
and area of Centre ? 4. Soil ? 

2. What are the mountains? 5. Minerals? 



214 



STATE-BOOK Of PENNSYLVANIA. 



lity and in great abundance, bituminous coal west of the 
Allegheny mountain, and limestone in the valleys. 

6. It contains 18 townships, 2 boroughs, and several 
villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Bellefonte, the seat of justice, in 
Nittany Valley, with 1032 inhabitants, and Milesburg ; and* 
the villages are, Philipshurg, Potterh Bank, Aaronshurg, 
Milheim, Boalshurg, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the unfinished Bald 
Eagle JVavigation, from Milesburg to Lock Haven on the 
West Branch canal ; and turnpikes from Bellefonte to Lew- 
istown and Meadville. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 20,492. The assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was $4,980,213. 

10. The county was originally settled by Germans and 
Irish, and their chief employments are agriculture and the 
manufacture of iron. 

11. The Productions are, grain, pork, beef, and live- 
stock. Iron is manufactured in large quantities, there 
being yery many furnaces, forges, and rolling-mills in the 
county, together with several cotton and woollen factories, 
and a large number of flour-mills. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
90 common schools. 

13. Centre elects, with Clearfield, 2 members to the 
House of Representatives, and with Lycoming and Clin- 
ton, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Blair, Huntingdon, 
Juniata, and Mifflin, 1 member of Congress ; and is in 
the fourth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Boggs, Ferguson, Gregg, Haines, Halfmoon, 
Harris, Howard, Huston, Liberty, Marion, Miles, Patton, Penn, Potter, 
Rush, Siiotrshoe, Spring, and Walker. 

15. Bellefonte, so called from its fitie spring, (that being the mean- 
ing of its French name,) is placed on elevated ground in the great 
limestone valley of Nittany, and presents a pleasant though irregu- 
lar appearance. It has an elegant court-house, with other county- 



6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villasjes .' 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villaiTos. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ! 



10. Who settled Centre, and what are 
their chief employments ? 

11. Their productions ? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is it represented, and what is 
the judicial district? 

14. Name the toiv?iships. 

15. Describe Bellefonte. 



FOURTH CLASS — CENTRE. 



215 



buildino:s, 3 churches, 1 academy, 1 cotton-factory, and several mills. 
It was laid out in 1795, incorporated in 1814, and is 85 miles N. W. 
of Harrisburg, and 183 of Philadelphia. 

16. Philipsbnrir is on the high land N. W. of the Allegheny on the 
Moshanon, and the turnpike to Erie. It was laid out in 1797, by 
two brothers of the name of P/m7/>s, Englishmen, who erected exten- 
sive iron-works and a screw-factory. It is a neat town, in the bitu- 
minous coal region, and in the midst of a valuable lumber country. 

17. Milcsburg is a small busy town at the junction of Bald Eagle 
and Spring creeks, and at the head of the Bald Eagle Navigation. 
It is 2 miles from Bellefonte, and contains 2 churches, several iron- 
works, an axe-factory, and a number of mills. 

18. The luncsloiic valleys of Centre are among the richest and most 
beautiful tracts of land in the state. Nittany, Brush, and Penn's 
Valleys unite into one at the south-western end of the county, and 
are all well-improved. 

19. There are over 30 iron-ivorks of different kinds in the county, 
yielding a very large amount of the best pig and bar iron that 
reaches market, neither are the facilities for its manufacture inferior 
to the quality of the metal. The ore is in profusion; wood for 
charcoal covers all the mountains ; limestone for flux is found in 
every valley ; and the valleys also afford abundance of provisions 
for the hands employed in the works. 

20. The portion of the county north-west of the main Alleghany, 
though rough and destitude of the beautiful and rich valleys of the 
south-eastern part, contains inexhaustible quantities of bituminous 
coal. Thus Centre really belongs both to the iron and coal regions 
of the state. 

21. History. — The first whites seem to have settled in Centre 
county, about 1768, near the present town of Milesburg. It then 
composed part of Northumberland. About the same time, James 
Potter took up a large tract of land in Penn's Valley, where he after- 
wards built a fort, at the place still called Potter's Fort. He and 
a number of others, who had settled in the same vicinity, were 
however forced to abandon their new possessions by the hostile In- 
dians about the commencement of the Revolution. On the restora- 
tion of peace, the settlers returned, and from that period the county, 
which was formed out of parts of Lycoming, Huntingdon, Mifflin, 
and Northumberland, in 1800, has presented nothing remarkable in 
its progress. It owes its name to its central position in the state. 

22. Noted Citizens. — Ja?nes Potter, a brigadier-general in the 
Revolutionary army, was one of the first settlers in Centre, and a 
useful citizen. Genl. Philip JJomer, who died in 1833, aged 70, in- 
troduced the manufacture of iron in Centre, and took the first " Ju- 
niata iron" to Pittsburg. 



16. Philipsburg. 

17. Milesburg. 

1 8. What is said of the valleys ? 

19. 0/ the iron-works ? 



20. Of coal? 

21. Repeat the history of Centre., with 
dates. 

22. Name the noted citizens. 



216 



STATE-BOOK ftF PENNSYLVANIA. 



UNION COUNTY, 




1. Union, an iron mountain county, is bounded E. by 
Northumberland, N. by Lycoming, W. by Centre and 
Mifflin, and S. by Juniata. Its area is 550 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, Shade in the S., Jack^s in the 
W., and Buffalo and Mittany in the N., with Wliite Deer^ 
forming the Lycoming boundary. 

3. The Streams are J the Susquehanna and West Branchy 
dividing it from Northumberland ; into the former flow 
Pen7ih^ Middle^ and West Mahantongo creeks^ and into the 
latter Bicff'alo and White Deer. 

4. The Soil of the valleys^ especially that of Buffalo, is 
unsurpassed by any in the state in point of fertility. The 
mountains are sterile. The broken land in the south is 
only moderately fertile. Probably two-thirds of the county 
is or may be made productive. 

5. The Minerals are, limestone and iron-ore^ there be- 
ing less of the latter than in any of the other iron counties. 

6. Union contains 15 townships^ 4 boroughs^ and quite 
a number of villages. 



1. Vyhat are the class, boundaries, 
and jarea of Union ? 

2. The mountalas '' 

3. Streams? 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 



FOURTH CLASS UNION. 217 

7. The Boroughs are, .Kew Berlin, the seat of justice 
on Penn's creek, with 679 inhabitants; Lewishurg on the 
West Branch, with 12-2() ; Mifflimhurg in Buffalo Yalley, 
with 704, and Sellnsgrove. The villages are, Harthyton, 
Middlehurg, Swiftstown, Mamsburg, Freebwg, JVew Co- 
lumbia, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvf.ments are, the Pennsylvania 
canal, along the Susquehanna to Northumberland, where 
it joins the West Branch canal, which passes up the east 
side of that river, and is connected with Lewisburg by a 
cross-cut canal and a dam in the river; a turnpike from 
Lewisburg through Mifflinsburg and Hartleyton into Centre 
county ; and three large bridges over the West Branch, 
one at Northumberland, one at Lewisburg, and one at 
Milton. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 22,787, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, $5,235,053. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were mostly Scotch- Irish and 
Germans from the lower counties, with some from JSTew 
Jersey. The German portion now form the large majority, 
and use their own lano^uaoje. 

11. Their employments are chiefly agriculture, and their 
productions large quantities of all kinds of gi-ain, cattle, 
and pork. Some tobacco is also raised. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 97 common, and 
some private schools. There are 30 places of public wor- 
ship in the county. 

13. Union elects, with Juniata, 2 members to the House 
of Representatives, and with Mifflin and Juniata, 1 to the 
Senate of the state, and with Northumberland, Lycoming, 
and Clinton, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the twen- 
tieth judicial district. 

14. The Townships of Union are, Beaver, W. Beaver, Buffalo, 
E. Bxffalo, W. Buffalo, Centre, Chapman, Hartley, Kelly, Middle Creek, 
Penn, Perry, Union, Washington, and Whiledeer. 

15. New Berlin is a pleasant town in the midst of Penn's Valley 
and on Penn's Creek, a considerable stream which is navigable for 



7. Name the county-seat, boroughs 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Union ? 



11. What are their pursuits and pro- 
ductions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is Union represented, and 
what is the judicial district? 

14. Name the townships. 

15. Describe New Bfrlin. 

19 



218 



STATE-BOOK (TF PENNSYLVANIA. 



rafts and arks, 50 miles of its length. It contains a commodious court- 
house and county-offices of brick, a stone prison, and 4 churches. 
It was laid out about 1800, and was for some time called Longsiown, 
after the proprietor of the ground. It was incorporated in 1837, de- 
riving its name from the city of Berlin in Prussia. It is 60 miles 
N. of Harrisburg, 137 N. W. of Philadelphia, and 200 N. E. of 
Pittsburg. 

16. Lewisburg is the largest town in the county, and is delightfully 
seated on the west bank of the West Branch, at the mouth of Buflalo 
creek. It has a bridge over the river, and a connection with the 
West Branch canal. Being the point of business, and on the 
natural outlet, of the large and rich valley of Buffalo, it is a place 
of considerable trade. It is connected with Bellefonte, in Centre 
county, by a turnpike, and contains four churches and a foundery. 

17. Nearly all the towns of Union county possess the singularity 
of tiDo names. New Berlin is called Longstown ; Lewisburg, Derrs- 
town ; Mifflinsburg, Youngmanstown ; Middleburg, Swinefordstown ; 
Freeburg, Stroupstown, &c. This arose from designating each by 
the name of the proprietor before some finer name had been selected, 
and now the original appellation generally excludes its later rival. 

18. Union, though in the midst of the mountains, is one of the 
richest agricultural counties in the middle portion of the state. Her 
position is peculiarly advantageous with reference to the iron and 
coal-trade of Pennsylvania. Having Mifflin and Centre on the 
south and west, and Columbia and Northumberland on the east, 
when the minerals of those counties come fairly into use, she will 
have a home market for much of her produce, and for the remain- 
der will still command access to a more distant market by means 
of the state canals. 

19. Thus, though not herself possessed of many iron-works, she 
seems by her position and productions to be most intimately con- 
cerned in the success of that business. 

20. HisTOKT. — A few pioneers had settled about the mouth of 
Penn's creek between 1750 and 1755, but were driven away in the 
latter year by the Indians. Soon after the treaty of Fort Stanwix, 
in 1768, had extinguished the Indian title to this part of the state, 
and opened it to settlers, many Irish and German adventurers from 
the lower counties established themselves. The first settlements 
were about the mouths of Penn's and Buffalo creeks along the river. 
They suffered many hardships from the Indians and their British 
allies during the Revolution, but held their ground, and gradually 
extended their improvements up the streams into the interior of the 
county. After independence was achieved, as part of Northumber- 
land, Union enjoyed quiet and prosperity. In 1813, it became a 
separate county, under the name of that bond which binds the states 
together, and has since been the scene of no remarkable occurrence. 

21. Noted Citizens. — Col. John Kelly, born in Lancaster county 



16. Lewisburg. 

17. What is said of the names of the 
towns ? 

18. Of the position of Union ? 



19. Of the iron-business? 

20. Repeat the history of the county, with 
the dates. 

21. Naine the noted citizens. 



FOURTH CLAiSS COLUMBIA. 



219 



in 1754, early settled in Buffalo Valley. He was a major in the 
Revolutionary army, and was in the actions of Ti-enton and Prince- 
ton, and was a brave and meritorious officer. He died in Union 
county. Simon Snycfer, one of the governors of the state, was long 
a citizen of Union county. His residence was near Selinsgrove. 
He was born in Lancaster county in 1759, and settled in Union in 
1784, where he died in 1819. 



COLUMBIA COUNTY. 




1 Danville. 

2 CatiiwissH, 

3 Mifllinsburg. 
i Berwick. 

5 Blooinsburg. 
a Jerseytown. 

7 Wnshingrton. 

8 Friiitstown. 



1. Columbia, an iron mountain county, is bounded E. 
by Luzerne, N. by Lycoming, and W. and S. by Northum- 
berland and Schuylkill. Area, bib square miles. 

2. The Mountains are. Little, Catawissa, Knob, and 
JYorth mountains ; Montour'' s and limestone ridges, and the 
Muncy hills. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna, called the JYorth 
Branch, Fishing, Ca-ta-wis' sa, Roaring, Ma-ho'ning, and 
Chil-lis-qua' que creeks. 

4. The Soil varies from rich limestone land to the bar- 
ren rocky surface of the mountains. Much red-shale, clay, 
and limestone soil is found in different parts of the county, 
one-half of which may ultimately be cultivated. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and I 3. Streams ? 
area of Columbia ? 4. Soil? 

2. The mountains? • 



220 



STATE-BOOK (Jf PENNSYLVANIA. 



5. The Minerals are, abundance of iron-ore and lime- 
stone. 

6. The county contains 22 townships, 3 boroughs, and 
several thriving villages. 

7. Danville, on the North Branch, with over 1000 in- 
habitants, is the county town ; the Boroughs are, Bloomsburg, 
Berwick, and Catavnssa ; the villages are, Mifflin, Jersey- 
town, Fruitstown, Washington, Williamsburg, Moorshurg, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the JYorth Branch 
canal, a turnpike to Potts ville, and bridges across the 
Susquehanna at Danville, Catawissa, and Berwick. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 24,267. Assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was $4,260,914. 

10. Many of the earlier settlers were Germans from the 
older counties of the state, whose descendants still use the 
German language. Their chief employment is agriculture, 
and latterly the extensive manufacture of iron. 

11. The principal Productions are, grain, meat, and 
iron. A large home demand for the two former is created 
by the numerous iron-works, and the neighbouring mining 
region of Schuylkill. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies, 1 fe- 
male seminary, and 114 common schools. * 

13. Columbia elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and with Luzerne, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Luzerne and Wyoming, 1 member of Congress; and 
is in the eighth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Bloom, Briar a-eek, Cataicissa, Centrey Darby, 
Fishing creek, Franklin, Greenwood, Hemlock, Jackson, Liberty, Limestone, 
Madison, Mahoning, Marion, Mifflin, Montour, Mount Pleasant, Orange, 
Roaring creek. Sugar Loaf, and. Valley, 

15. Danville is one of the most thriving towns in the state. Its 
position on the Susquehanna river and the North Branch canal, the 
inexhaustible mines of the finest iron-ore in the immediate vicinity, 
together with the adjacent rich agricultural country, form a combi- 
nation of advantages not often equalled. It is seated on the high 
western bank of the river, with the canal in its outskirts, and the 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

8. The public improvements ? 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. Who settled the county, and what 
are their pursuits? 

11. Their productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is it represented, and what is 
the judicial district? 

14. Name the toivnships. 

15. Describe Danville. 



FOURTH CLASS COLUMBIA. 221 



celebrated Montour's ridge with its invaluable iron-ore be)'ond. 
The town contains the usual county buildings, 3 churches, an aca- 
demy, several anthracite blast furnaces, one of them the most com- 
plete in the United States, and other manufacturing establishments. 
Its commencement seems to date back as far as 1780, when it was 
laid out by the Montgomery family, and is said to have taken its 
name from General Daniel Montgomery, who first established a store 
where Danville now stands. In 1813, it became the seat of justice 
of the new county, but has never been incorporated. Since the com- 
pletion of the North Branch canal, and especially since the success- 
ful use of anmracite coal in smelting iron, it has improved very 
rapidly, and bids fair to become one of our largest manufacturing 
towns. It is 68 miles N. of Harrisburg, 120 N. W. from Philadel- 
phia, and 230 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

16. Bloomsburg is a well-built and growing town, 9 miles N. E. of 
Danville, and a short distance from the North Branch. It has a 
population of 600, and 4 churches, and is situated in a fertile part 
of the county. 

17. Montour's Ridge extends along the- North Branch, from 
Northumberland to Bloomsburg, a distance of 21 miles. It abounds 
throughout its length both with iron-ore and the limestone so in- 
dispensable in the fluxing of the metal. Since anthracite has been 
used as a fuel in furnaces, the union of these three elements of 
wealth forms a new era in the prosperity of this part of the state. 

18. HisToiiT. — Previous to the commencement of the Revolution- 
ary war, there do not appear to have been any permanent settlers 
in what is now Columbia county. About 1777, two brothers of the 
name of Montgomery settled at the mouth of Mahoning creek. 
They were soon, however, forced by the Indians to seek shelter with 
their families at Northumberland, where there was a fort. On the 
return of peace, they resumed their former settlement, and were 
soon followed by others in different parts of the county. Berwick 
was commenced in 1783. Catawissa was settled in 1787 by a So- 
ciety of Friends, who have since disappeared and been succeeded 
by Germans. Bloomsburg was laid out in 1802. The county was 
separately organized in 1813, having before been included in North- 
umberland, taking its name from the discoverer of the continent. In 
1816, it received an increase of territory on the west, from North- 
umberland, and in 1818, lost a portion by the formation of Schuyl- 
kill. Little has since marked its history, except the oft-repeated 
attempts to change the seat of justice to Bloomsburg, as being more 
central. 

19. Noted Citizens. — Moses Van Campen, whose narrative of 
daring and suffering, as a scout during the Revolution, is known to 
most readers, performed some of his boldest feats in this region. 
His father was a resident of the county. 



in. Also Bloomsburg. I 18. Repeat the history of Cohitnbia, with 

17. Mliat is said of Motitoufs Ridge, dates, 
and of the iron-business ? \ 19. Name the noted citizens. 

19* 



222 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



LYCOMING COUNTY. 




1. Lycoming, an iron mountain county, is hounded E. 
by Luzerne and Wyoming, N. by Bradford and Tioga, 
W. by Clinton, and S. by Union, Northumberland, and 
Columbia. Its area is 1500 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, White Deer^ which divides it 
from Union, and the Muncy Hills from Northumberland 
and Columbia, both in the South ; Bald Eagle, south of 
the West Branch, extending from that stream to the Clinton 
line ; and the Great Allegheny ridge, here called the JYorth 
mountain, traversing the county from east to west about 
its centre, but greatly broken and deeply indented by 
streams. Beyond this is the usual high table-land of the 
Allegheny, gradually sloping towards the north and west. 

3. The STREAMS-are, the West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna, through its south-western quarter; into which 
empty, from the north. Pine, Lycoming, Loyalsock, and 
Muncy creeks, with some small ones from the south. 

4. The Soil is very various. That of the numerous 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Lycoming ? 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 



FOURTH CLASS LYCOMING. 



223 



limestone valleys and river flats is remarkably fertile. 
Much of the rolling upland, consisting of slate and shale j 
is susceptible of cultivation. The mountain sides are 
generally barren. About two-thirds of the county may 
ultimately be reclaimed. 

5. The Minerals are iron-ore, limestone, coal, and^tre- 
hrick clay. 

6. Lycoming contains 32 townships, 3 boroughs, and 
several villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, William sport, the seat of justice 
on the West Branch, with 1353 inhabitants ; Miincy, with 
662, and Jersey Shore, with 525 ; and the villages are, 
JYiriobury, Ralston, Jayshurg, Hughsville, Montour sville, 
Fairview, and Uniontown. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the West Branch 
canal, following that stream throughout the county ; a rail- 
road, intended to connect Williamsportwith Elmira in the 
staie of New York, and completed from the former place 
to Ralston, a distance of 16 miles ; and several bridges, 
the largest of which is over the West Branch at Jersey 
Shore. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 22,649, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $3,787,874. 

10. The first Settlers were chiefly Scotch- Irish, and 
Friends from the lower counties, who were subsequently 
followed by Germans, and latterly by many from New 
Jersey, New England, and New York. The population 
is now of a mixed description. In several settlements the 
German language is still spoken. 

11. Their chief Employments are, agriculture, lumber- 
ing, and the iron-business. 

12. Their Productions are, large quantities of grain of 
all kinds, cattle, pork, lumber, and iron. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, 140 
common, and several private schools. 

14. Lycoming elects, with Clinton and Potter, 2 mem- 

•4. Soil ? 9. What are the population and pro- 

5. Minerals? perty ? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 10. Who settled the county? 
and villages? 11. What are their pursuits? 

7. Name the connty-seat, boroughs, 12. Their productions ? 
and villages. 13. Literary institutions? 

8. The public improvements. 



224 



STATE-BOOK (fP PENNSYLVANIA. 



bers to the House of Representatives, and with Chnton 
and Centre, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Northumber- 
land, Union, and Clinton, 1 member of Congress ; and is 
in the eighth judicial district. 

15. The Townships of liy coming are, Anthony, Armstrong, Brown, 
Cascade, Cherry, Clinton, Coganhouse, Cummings, Davidson, Elkland, 
Fairfield, Forks, Fox, Franklin, Hepburn, Jackson, Lewis, Limestone, 
Loyalsock, Lycoming, Mifflin, Moreland, Muncy, Mwncy creek, Nippenose, 
Pemi's, Plunket's creek, Porter, Shrewsbury, Susquehavina, Washington and 
Wolf. 

16. Williamsport is beautifully situated on the north bank of the 
West Branch, between Lycoming and lioyalsock creeks. It is hand- 
somely built, with a number of tasteful private dwellings, an elegant 
court-house, a jail, and the requisite county-offices, 5 churches, an 
academy, a bank, a foundery, and 2 large tanneries. The United 
States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is 
held here alternately with Pittsburg. It was laid out in 1795, and 
incorporated as a borough in 1806, and takes its name from William 
Hepburn, one of the first associate judges of the county. Its position 
on the West Branch canal and the Elmira railroad, together with 
the rich agricultural region in the vicinity, renders it a place of con- 
siderable business, which will be much increased when the railroad 
is completed. It is 96 miles N. of Harrisburg, 164 N. W. of Phila- 
delphia, and 196 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Muncy, formerly called Pennsborough, is on the north side of 
the West Branch, near the mouth of Muncy creek. It is a neat 
and groAving town, and contains 3 churches. It is in a region ori- 
ginally settled by Friends from the south-eastern counties. 

18. Jersey-shore is above Williamsport, on the same side of the 
river, and near the mouth of Pine creek. It has a considerable 
lumber trade from the Pine creek region, and contains 3 churches, 
and several elegant private residences. It was originally settled by 
emigrants from New Jersey. 

19. Ralston is a busy village of recent growth, at the mouth of 
Stony run on Lycoming creek, 26 miles north of Williamsport. It 
is the present termination of the Elmira railroad, which is in opera- 
tion thus far. In Lewis township, m which Ralston is situated, there 
are a furnace, rolling-mill, nail-factory, and several saw-mills. In 
the vicinity are extensive mines of iron-ore and bituminous coal, 
with some limestone and fire-brick. Lower down the Lycoming 
there are several other iron-works. 

20. Ralston promises to be a prosperous manufacturing and busi- 
ness point. The coal and iron of the vicinity, the water-power, and 
the facilities for getting to market, which will be very great when the 
connection with the New York works at Elmira is perfected, cannot 

' fail to insure its success. 



14. How is it represented, and what is 
the judicial district? 

15. Name the townshijis. 

16. Describe Williamsport. 

17. Muncy. 



IS. Jersey-shore. 

19. Ralst07i. 

20. What is said of it as a place of bust- 



FOURTH CLASS LYCOMING. 225 



21. One of the most remarkable localities in Lycoming is Nippe- 
nose Valley, in the south-western part of the county. It is a regu- 
larly-shaped oval valley of limestone, surrounded by high mountains, 
except at one point opposite Jersey Shore, where a deep gap in Bald 
Eagle mountain affords access to it. Numerous small streams de- 
scend on all sides from the surrounding mountain, towards the cen- 
tre, and sink through the fissures and caverns of the limestone rock. 
They emerge again, however, from their subterraneous channels near 
the gap, and form a large spring which flows thence to the river. 
The soil of this singular valley being very fertile, it has long been 
inhabited, and is traversed by several public roads. It is 10 miles 
iu length and about 4 in breadth. 

22. When the resources of Lycoming shall be fully developed, the 
business of its people will be of a very mixed description. Its coal, 
iron, limestone, and abundant agricultural productions will probably 
combine manufactures with farming in such a way as to insure the 
success of both. 

23. History. — Previous to its permanent settlement by the whites, 
the region now called Lycoming was chiefly occupied by the Mon- 
seys, a band of the Delaware Indians, and the Shawanees, but be- 
longed to the Six Nations. In 1745, the Indians were visited by 
David Brainerd and the Moravians. In 1768, when the treaty of 
Fort Stanwix opened it for settlement as far as Pine creek, many 
Scotch-Irish from Cumberland Valley, who, in their previous Indian 
expeditions, had become acquainted with the richness of the soil 
along the river, eagerly took possession of it. For some years, 
doubts existed as to the real bounds, w^estward, of the " new pur- 
chase" of 1768, as it was called, and some contentions arose between 
the government and the settlers. These, however, were finally set- 
tled by the second treaty of Fort Stanwax in 1784. During the first 
seven years of this interval, the settlers enjoyed peace with the In- 
dians, and increased in numbers*, but when the Revolution com- 
menced, they suffered much hardship and many lives were lost. 
They took a gallant part, notwithstanding, in the war for freedom. 
Some joined the patriotic forces, while others erected block-houses 
or forts at home for the defence of their families. From Sunbury to 
Lockhaven a line of these rude but indispensable defences was 
thrown up, and each of them became the scene of many a legend 
of border warfare. But the settlers did not always hold their ground. 
In the fall of 1777, in consequence of a series of Indian murders, 
more numerous thnn common, and of rumors of the advance of a 
large Indian force from the north, the commander of Fort Augusta, 
at Sunbury, sent directions to the occupants of all the posts above 
him on the West Branch to evacuate them, and take refuge in Sun- 
bury. This caused a general panic. Every sort of craft that could 
float was put in requisition, and loaded with the families and pro- 
perty of the settlers. This strange fleet, gathering strength as it 
floated down the West Branch, with the adult males of each family 
marching along the shore, to guard the precious freight, finally 

21. WJiat of Nippenose Valley? 1 2.3. Repeat its history, xi'ith dates. 

22. What of the n-somces of the county? \ 



226 STATE-BOOK oV PENNSYLVANIA. 

arrived in safely at Sunbury, and was long afterwards talked of as 
the " Big Runaway." Thus were the settlements on the West 
Branch for the time abandoned. But the hardy adventurers re- 
turned next year, and did not afterwards leave their homes. When 
the close of the war gave safety to the tiller of the soil, the Muncy 
flats and other rich tracts in Lycoming, rapidly filled with inha- 
bitants. In 1795, the county was erected under the name of its 
chief stream. Since that time, it has been the fruitful mother of 
counties : Centre, Armstrong, Indiana, Clearfield, Jefferson, McKean, 
Potter, Tioga, and Clinton, having been formed from its territory. 
Yet it is still the largest county in the state. 

24. Noted Citizens. — Robert Covcnhovm, still living near Jersey 
Shore at the advanced age of 91, is a native of New Jersey. He 
settled young on the West Branch. He was in the battles of Tren- 
ton and Princeton. After his return to Lycoming, in 1777, he took 
a distinguished part in all thescoutings and battles with the Indians, 
till peace was restored. Johti Brady, the father of the famous Cap- 
tain Samuel Brady, and of the present Brigadier-General Hugh 
Brady, of the United States army, was born in the state of Delaware 
in 1733. He was one of the Scotck-Trish who early settled in Lyco- 
ming, after having spent some years near Shippensburg, in Cum- 
berland, and in Huntingdon counties. He built a block-house, and 
resided near the mouth of Muncy creek. With his elder sous he 
joined the continental army at Boston. They were also at the battle 
of Brandywine. Soon after that engagement, John, the father, re- 
turned to the West Branch, where he was ambushed and shot by a 
party of Indians. John Borrows, who died in 1837, at the age of 77, 
was born in New Jersey, and settled in Lycoming in 1794. During 
his early youth he served in the revolutionary army, having been 
in the military family of General Washington. He was with the 
army at Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Valley Forge, and Mon- 
mouth. During his long residence in Lycoming he filled many im- 
portant public oflSces, and uniformly enjoyed the confidence of his 
fellow citizens. 



21. Name the noted citizens. 



FIFTH CLASS SOMERSET. 



227 



FIFTH CLASS. 



SOMERSET COUNTY. 



WESTMORELAN 




1 Somerset. 

2 Stoystown. 

3 Jennerville. 

4 Milford. 

5 Berlin. 

6 Salisbury. 

7 Petersburg. 

8 Smithfield. 



1. Somerset, a bituminous mountain county, is bounded 
E. by Bedford, N. by Cambria, W. by Fayette and West- 
moreland, and S. by Maryland, ^rea^ 1050 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, the Great j^llegheny, forming the 
boundary of the county on the N. E., and thence passing 
through the S. E. part ; Little JJllegheny, forming the S. E. 
boundary ; Savage mountain in the south-east, between 
the Great and Little Allegheny ; JVe^ro mountain, the middle 
of the county in the south, and Laurel Hill forming the 
western boundary. 

3. Its Streams are, the Youghiogheny * forming the 

* Youghiogheny pronounced Yo-a-gen'ny. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Somerset? 



2. The mountains ? 

3. Streams? 



228 



STATE-BOOK C)F PENNSYLVANIA. 



boundary of the south-west corner of the county, into 
which empty Castleman^s river, with its tributaries Elk 
Licky Buffalo Lick, and Cox^s creeks, and Laurel Hill 
creek ; in the north Stony creek, wath its branches Shade 
and Quemahonijig, fioMfs into the Conemaugh ; in the east 
are the sources of the Raystown Branch ; and in the south- 
east the head-waters of Wills'^ creek flow into the Po- 
tomac. 

4. The Soil is better than might be expected in such a 
high region. The southern part produces tolerable crops 
of corn and wheat ; the northern is productive of grass, 
oats, and potatoes. Somerset is noted as superior grazing 
land ; for which purpose and for tillage probably three- 
fourths of its area are fit. 

5. The Minerals are, an abundance of bituminous coal, 
a considerable quantity of limestone, and some iron-ore. 

6. Somerset contains 16 townships, 3 boroughs, and some 
pleasant villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Somerset, the seat of justice, near 
Cox's creek, with 638 inhabitants ; Berlin with 525, and 
Stoystown ; and the villages are, Smithjield, Petersburg, 
Jennerville, Salisbury, and Milford. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the JVaiional Road 
in the south-west ; the Bedford and Mount Pleasant turn- 
pike crossing the middle, and the Bedford and Greensburg 
turnpike the northern part, and a turnpike passing in the 
south-east from Somerset to the National Road at Cum- 
berland, Md, 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 19,650, and the as- 
sessed value oi property, in 1845, $2,370,078. 

10. The first Settlers were chiefly Germans, of 
whom the greater portion of the population now consists, 
using their own language. 

11. Their chief Occupations are, agriculture, and the 
raising of cattle and sheep. 

12. The Productions are, some wheat and corn, with 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the coimty-seat, borougks, 
and villages. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their occupations ? 

12. Productions? 



FIFTH CLASS SOMERSET. 229 



large quantities of oats, rye, potatoes, buckwheat, flax, 
wool, cattle, butter and maple sugar, and some iron and 
coal, the latter not being yet mined for exportation to any 
extent. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, an academy, 119 
common, and some private schools. 

14. Somerset elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Westmoreland, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Fayette and Greene, 1 member of Congress ; 
and is in the sixteenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships of Somerset are, Addison, Allegheny, Brother s 
Valley, Concmaugh, Elklick, Greenville, Jenner, Milford, Faint, Qucma- 
honing, Shade, Sonierse', Southampton, Stony Creek, Surmnit, and Turkey- 
foot. 

16. Somerset is a neat, healthy town on the Bedford and Mount 
Pleasant turnpike, and connected by turnpike with the Great Na- 
tional Road. It contains a court-house and the other county-build- 
ings, 3 churches, and an academy. It was laid out in 1795, and 
was for some time called Brunerstown, from its founder, but takes its 
present name from the shire town of Somerset in England. It was 
incorporated in 1804. In 1833, it was visited by a devastating fire, 
but has since recov^ered from the blow. It is 139 miles W. of Har- 
risburg, 237 W. of Philadelphia, and 70 S. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Berlin, the oldest town in the county, is in Brother's Valley, 
one of the earliest settlements in Somerset. It is in a fertile region, 
contains 2 churches, and is near the turnpike from Somerset to 
Cumberland on the National Road. 

18. A greatpartof this county consists of what are called " glades,"' 
being level tracts of land with a heavy wet soil on the high table 
land west of the Great Allegheny. Though too cold and moist for the 
production of wheat and corn, they are celebrated for yielding supe- 
rior pasture and hay. Hence, the "glade butter" is well-known la 
the markets of the large cities. 

19. East of the borough of Berlin, on the Great Allegheny, there 
is a small tract whose springs find their way to the ocean at Avidely 
distant points, and through various channels. Here are found some 
of the sources of the Raystown Branch flowing into the Susque- 
hanna, of Wills' creek into the Potomac, of Buffalo Lick creek into 
the Monongahela, and of Stony creek into the Allegheny. 

20. History. — Previous to 1754, Somerset county seems to have 
been nearly untrodden by the foot of white men. In that year Lieu- 
tenant Colonel George Washington, afterwards the Father of his 
Country, was stationed at Wills' creek post, (now Cumberland, Md.,) 



13. Litorary institutions 



14. How is it reprpscnted, and what i 
the judicial districi? 

15. Name the tow7iships. 
IG. Describe Somerset. 
17. Berlin. 



18 The glades. 

19. WJiat remarkable tract is east of Ber- 
lin ? 

20. Repeat the hiitory of Somers$t, with 
dates. 



20 



230 



STATE-BOOK 0F» PENNSYLVANIA. 



in command of a portion of the expedition, despatched by Governor 
Dinwiddie of Virginia, to occupy the Forks of the Ohio, (now Pitts- 
burg.) To facilitate the passage of the troops, he cut a road through 
the south-western part of the county, near where the National Road 
is now constructed. The next year, Braddock's ill-fated army 
marched over the road thus opened. In 1758, Col. Bouquet opened 
a similar passage across the northern part of the county, which 
long continued to be the only road between Philadelphia and Pitts- 
burg. Soon after the formation of these routes, some of the hardy 
adventurers from Cumberland Valley commenced settlements in the 
county, and a number of Germans established themselves in the 
eastern part of it. When Pontiac's war happened in 1763, there 
were several settlements in the county. They M'ere, however, 
all broken up by the Indians during the Revolutionary war, except 
those of the Germans along the eastern line. After the termina- 
tion of that contest, and of the Indian wars which succeeded it, 
the county began slowly to increase in population. It was erected 
in 1795, out of part of Bedford, and took its name from the shire of 
Somerset in England. Since 1815, about which time the great turn- 
pikes of the state were constructed, it has regularly and largely in- 
creased in population and wealth. 



CAMBRIA COUNTY. 




1. Cambria, a hituminous mountain county, is hounded 
E. by Blair, N. by Clearfield, W. by Indiana and West- 
moreland, and S. by Somerset. Area^ 670 square miles. 

1. What are the class, boundaries, and area of Cambria? 



FIFTH CLASS CAMBRIA. 



231 



2. The chief Mountains are, the main Allegheny^ whicli 
forms its eastern, and Laurel Hill its western boundary, 
one of the most elevated posi- 
the broad westward slope of the 



The county occupies 
tions in the state, on 
Allegheny. 

3. It has no large 
B lac /t lick creeks, the 



Rivers. Conemaugh, Stony, and 
heads of the Kis-kim-in-e'-tas^ flow 



through the south part; and in the north. Chest and Clear- 



field creeks, the sources 



of the West Branch, pass into 



coal, iron, 



Clearfield county. 

4. The Soil along the streams is productive, but the 
larger portion is rugged and cold, and better fitted for pas- 
ture than grain. Oats and potatoes are raised in consider- 
able quantities. About one-half of the county is tillable. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, bituminous 
and limestone. 

6. It contains 13 townships, 3 boroughs, and a few^ small 
villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Ehenshurg, the seat of justice, 
on one of the ridges of the Allegheny, with 353 inhabit- 
ants ; Johnstown, with 1377, and Loretto ; and the vil- 
lages are. Summit, Munster, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Jillegheny Portage 
railroad, crossing the county from east to west, and turn- 
pikes from Ebensburg to Pittsburg, Kittanning,and Holli- 
daysburg. 

9. The Population, in 1840; was 11,256, and in 1845, 
the assessed value of property was $770,587. 

10. The People are of Welsh and Irish oi-igin, with 
some Germans. The Welsh language is still commonly 
spoken in many parts. 

11. Their main Pursuits are, agriculture, lumbering, 
and mining. 



12. The Productions are, lumber, 
stock, oats, and potatoes. 



coal, some 



live- 



2. The mountains ? 

3. Streams ? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled Cambria? 

11. What are their pursuits? 

12. Their productions? 



232 STATE-BOOK OV PENNSYLVANIA. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
71 common schools. 

14. Cambria elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Indiana, Clearfield, and Armstrong, 
1 to the Senate of the state ; with Westmoreland and Bed- 
ford, 1 member of Congress; and is in the tenth judicial 
district. 

15. The Townships are, Allegheny, Cambria, Carroll, Clearfield, Co- 
nemaugh, Jackson, Jefferson, Munster, Richland, Summerhill, Susquehanna, 
Washington, and White., 

16. Ebensburg is a small quiet town, with the usual county buildings, 
an academy, and 4 churches, in several of which service is per- 
formed in Welsh. It was laid out in 1805, by settlers mostly from 
Wales. It was incorporated in 1825, and is 74 miles E. from Pitts- 
burg, 134 W. from Harrisburg, and 232 from Philadelphia. 

17. Johnstown, the largest town in the county, is seated on a flat 
closed in by mountains, at the confluence of the Conemaugh and 
Stony creek. It is a well-built place, with 4 churches. It contains 
the large canal basin, with its surrounding warehouses and boat- 
yards, and the state locomotive depot. It occupies the site of an old 
Indian town, called Kickenap aiding' s town, and was commenced in 
1792 by Joseph Johns, or, Jahns, from whom it takes its present 
name. It was incorporated in 1831 by the name of Conemaugh, 
which was changed to Johnstown in 1834. 

18. Cambria contains that which is rare in Pennsylvania, a de- 
serted village. The town of Beidah, 2 miles S. W. of Ebensburg, was 
early laid out and built, but the establishment of the seat of justice 
at Ebensburg caused it to be abandoned. 

19. Some of the waters of Cambria flow through the Susquehanna 
into Chesapeake bay, and others into the Gulf of Mexico through 
the Ohio and Mississippi. It is consequently a high county, and 
its climate severe, frost sometimes occurring in the summer. Its 
streams, too, are little better than torrents, which is the general cha- 
racter of all those which Pennsylvania discharges towards the east. 
Still these defects possess their countervailing advantages. If the 
winters of our mountain counties be long, the air is bracing and 
healthful, and the waters are pure, abundant, and sparkling, though 
the torrents be wild. 

20. Among the stupendous works by which Pennsylvania has 
sought to overcome the natural obstacles of her position, and to give 
outlet to the abundance of her mineral and agricultural wealth, none 
exceeds in boldness or magnitude the series of vast inclined planes 
and levels, called the Allegheny Portage railway, which connects 
the canal basins of Hollidaysburg and Johnstown. The distance 



13. Literary institutions? 

14. How are they represented, and 
what is the judicial district? 

16. Name the toiomhips. 
IG. Describe Ebensburg. 



17. Johnstotun. 

18. Eeulah. 

19. What is said of the position and eli- 
mate? 

20. Describe the Allegheny Portage. 



FIFTH CLASS CLEARFIELD. 



233 



traversed is 40 miles; the eastern ascent 1398, and the western de- 
scent 1172 feet; the planes are 10, the longest, of 3 100 feet, overcomes 
a rise of 307 feet; the cars, by means of ropes, some of them over 
a mile long, are raised and lowered by steam-engines at the head of 
each plane; on the route there is a tunnel of 870 feet, and a stone 
arch of 80 feet span. The cost of the work was §1,500,000. 

21. History. — Previous to 1797, Cambria was a wilderness, and 
formed part of Huntingdon and Somerset In that year, the first 
settler took up his residence near the present town of Loretto. In 
1804, it was erected into a separate county, and the ancient name 
of Wales, from which a majority of its inhabitants came, given to 
it. It did not increase much in population till the construction of 
the public works ; since that era it has been steadily advancing. 

23. Noted Citizens. — Captain Richard McGuire was the first set- 
tler in the county, and the Rev. Rees Lloyd, the first in Ebensburg. 
The Rev. Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, during 42 years, ejccrcised 
the functions of a- Roman Catholic clergyman in the county. He 
was a native of Germany, and held the rank of prince in Russia. 
He spent a long life in the discharge of his sacred duties on the 
bleak summit of the Allegheny. He died in 1840, aged 72. 



CLEARFIELD COUNTY. 




1. Clearfield, a bituminous mountain county, is hounded 
E. by Centre and Clinton, N. by Elk, W. by Jefferson and 
Indiana, and S. by Cambria. JirPM^ 1200 square miles. 



21 . Repeat the history of Cambria^ 

22. Name its noted citizens. 



j 1. "What are the class, boundaries, and 
I area of Clearfield? 

20* 



234 



STATE-BOOK O^ PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. This county is mountainous and hilly^ without any 
long or distinct langes, except Elk mountain in the west. 
It lies on the western slope of the Great Allegheny. 

3. The Streams are, the West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna, navigable for lumber and arks during the freshets ; 
the creeks are, Clearfield^ Chesty Moshanon, and Jin- 
derson^s. 

4. The Soil of the alluvial valleys is highly productive. 
The uplands are tolerably fertile, except where too rough 
for tillage. The county is generally well adapted for pas- 
ture, three-fourths of its area being probably fit for pasture 
or tillage. 

5. The Minerals are, abundance of excellent bituminous 
coal, with iron-ore, limestone, 2ind fire-hick clay. 

6. It contains 19 townships, 1 borough, and several 
villages. 

I. The Borough is Clearfield, the seat of justice, on the 
West Branch, with 300 inhabitants; and the villages are, 
Curwensville, Luthersburg, Frenchville, Karthause, and 
Mount Pleasant. 

8. The Public Improvements are, turnpikes to Erie, 
Bellefonte, and Smethport, and some bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 7,834. The assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was $798,329. 

10. The people are mainly settlers from other parts of 
the state, and are principally employed in farming and 
lumbering. 

II. The Productions are chiefly lumber, w^ith some 
grain and cattle. Clearfield contains about 100 saw-mills. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, an academy, a 
female seminary, and 76 common schools. 

13. Clearfield, w^ith Centre, elects 2 members to the 
House of Representatives, and, with Indiana, Cambria, 
and Armstrong, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Butler, 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-sea.!, boroughs, 
and villaees. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

Ui Who settled it? 

11. What are the productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is it represented, and which 
judicial district is it in ? 



FIFTH CLASS CLEARFIELD. 235 



Armstrong, and Indiana, 1 member of Congress ; and is 
in the fourth judicial district. 

14. The Townships arc, Beccaria, Bell, Boggs, Brarf/orff, Brady, 
FvrnsiHr, Chest, Covington, Dcnilur, Ferguson, Girard, Goshen, Huston, 
Jordan, Karthause, Lawrence, Morris, Penn, and Pike. 

15. Clearfield town occupies the site of an old Indian town, called 
Chinklacamouse, from a small creek of that name near it. It was 
laid out in 1805, and incorporated in 1840, and is a pleasant, quiet 
place, with a court-house, prison, academy, and 3 churches. It has 
also a bridge across the West Branch. It is 127 miles N. W. of 
Harrisburg, 225 of Philadelphia, and 100 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

16. At Karthause, so called from the name of the original proprie- 
tor, the first successful attempt was made in Pennsylvania to smelt 
iron by means of bituminous coal. Extensive works for the pur- 
pose were erected here in 1836 by a company, but owing to the re- 
moteness of the position and other causes, they are now abandoned. 

17. Cnrivensville is a stirring place on the West Branch, and on 
the Lewistown and Erie turnpike, about 5 miles S. W. of Clearfield. 
It has a substantial bridge across the river, and does a large lumber 
business. 

18. Luthersburg is a flourishing settlement, in a fertile agricultural 
region, about 10 miles N. W. of Clearfield, on the turnpike. 

19. Frenchville is on the north bank of the West Branch below 
Clearfield, near the mouth of Trout creek. As its name imports, it 
is a French settlement. 

20. Clearfield abounds with bituminous coal, and has considerable 
quantities of limestone and iron-ore. Though much of its surface 
is mountainous and deeply indented by the water-courses, yet the 
soil is naturally of a good quality, and is admirably adapted for pas- 
turing. It still sends large quantities of lumber to market. 

21. Htstory. — Until the beginning of the present century, few per- 
manent inhabitants were to be found in this county. It was taken 
off Lycoming and formed into a separate county in 1804, though for 
several years it remained to some extent connected with Centre. In 
1823, a small addition was made to its territory from Lycoming. 
Part of the new county of Elk was taken from it in 1843. The 
county and county-seat are said to derive their names from certain 
clear fields, apparently old Indian corn-fields, found in parts of the 
county by the first settlers. 



14. Name the townships. 

15. Describe Clearfield. 
1(5. Kartliause. 

17. C'urwensville. 

18. Luthersburg. 



19. Frenchville. 

20. What is said of the resources of the 
county? 

21. Repeat its history. 



236 



STATE-BOOK OF .PENNSYLVANIA. 



CLINTON COUNTY. 




1. Clinton, a bituminous mountain county, is bounded E. 
by Lycoming^ N. by Potter and Tioga, W. by McKean, Elk, 
and Clearfield, and S. by Centre. Jlrea, 1050 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are, the Allegheny, about the middle 
of the county, but much depressed in height ; and the 
Bald Eagle in the south-east. 

3. The Streams are, the West Bra7ichj crossing from 
westto e?LSiy?Lnd Si7i-ne-ma-ho'-ning J Bald Eagle^ Kettle, and 
other creeks. 

4. The Soil is very various. The limestone valleys and 
alluvial flats in the south-east are equal to any in the state. 
In the north-west the sandstone soil is poor and thin. Be- 
tween the two, a tolerably fertile slate and shale soil occurs. 
About one-half of its area may be cultivated. 

5. The Minerals are bituminous coal Tind fire-brick clay, 
west of the Allegheny mountain, with limestone and iron- 
ore in other parts. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and I 3. Streams ? 
area of Clinton? 4. Soil? 

2. The mountains? 5. Minerals'! 



FIFTH CLASS CLINTON. 



237 



6. It contains 15 townships, 1 borough, and several 
villages. 

7. The Borough is Lock Haven, the seat of justice, at 
the junction of the Bald Eagle and the West Branch, with 
about 500 inhabitants ; and the villages are, Lockport, 
Dunnstown, Mill Hall, Farrandsville, Young- Womans- 
iown, (Src. 

8. The Public Improvements ar^, the West Branch 
division of the state canal, finished from Northumberland 
to Farrandsville; and the Bald Eagle JYavigation, from 
Milesburg, in Centre, to Lock Haven. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 8,323, and in 1845, 
the assessed value of property was $1,588,628. 

10. The people are mostly settlers from the older parts 
of the state, and are engaged in farming and lumbering. 

11. Lumber and grain form their md\n produclions. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
41 common schools. 

13. Clinton, with Lycoming and Potter, elects 2 mem- 
bers to the House of Representatives, and with Lycoming 
and Centre, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Lycoming, 
Northumberland, and Union, 1 member of Congress ; and 
is in the fourth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Allison, Bald Eagle, Chapman, Colebrook, 
Crawford, Dunstable, Greene, Grove, Lamar, Logan, Lumber, Pine Creek, 
Porter, Wayne, and Woodward. 

15. Lock Haven, so called from its position at the junction of the 
Bald Eagle Navigation with the West Branch canal, where there 
are a number of canal locks, and a basin or haven on the West Branch, 
is a new thriving town. It contains a neat brick court-house, a jail, 
2 churches, and an academy. It was laid out in 1834, became the 
county-seat in 1839, and was incorporated in 1840. It is 118 miles 
N. W. of Harrisburg, and 188 N. W. of Philadelphia. 

16. Farrandsville, 7 miles above Lock Haven on the West Branch, 
is a deserted manufacturing village. Here were expended $700,000 
by a company in the erection of a nail factory, foundery, rolling- 
mill, coke iron-furnace, saw-mills, workmen's houses in large num- 
bers, a splendid hotel, and other costly establishments ; and all are 



6. Townships, boroughs, and villages ? 

7. Name the couniy-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled the county, and what 
are their pursuits? 



11. Productions? 

12. Literary in.stitutions : 

13. Hov^r are tlipy represented, and 
what is the judicial district? 

14. Name the totvnships. 

1 5. Describe Lock Haven. 
IG. FarrandsviUe. 



538 



STATE- BOOK dF PENNSYLVANIA. 



now hastening to ruin, a monument of the times. Its short history- 
was completed in the period between 1830 and 1840. 

17. Bituminous coal abounds in the part of the county north-west 
of the Allegheny mountain. The limestone valleys of the south- 
east and the alluvial flats along the streams are very fertile. Much 
of the county is still covered with forest, from which a great deal of 
lumber is sent to market by means of the numerous streams empty- 
ing into the West Branch. 

18. History. — In 1768, the treaty of Fort Stan wix vested in the colony 
all the lands on the We^ Branch to the eastern bounds of the present 
county of Clinton. This brought it to the knowledge of the early pio- 
neers, who shortly afterwards pushed their settlements to the fertile 
bottoms at the mouth of Bald Eagle. It was then part of Northumber- 
land county. The troubles of the Revolution compelled them for a 
while to abandon their improvements ; but they returned with in- 
creased numbers at its close. In 1794, Dunnstown was laid out, and 
subsequently settlements extended themselves in difierent directions. 
In 1795, it became part of Lycoming by separation from Northum- 
berland. It continued to increase slowly, till the construction of the 
West Branch canal, about 1830, gave a new impetus to improve- 
ment. In 1839, it became a separate county, taking a small part 
of its territory from Centre, and the rest from Lycoming. Owing 
its prosperity to the West Branch canal, it received the name of 
Clinton, the father of similar improvements in New York. 



ELK COUNTY. 




i MC K E (y IM ^^'^■'^■ 


1 Ridgway. 

2 Coopersport. 

3 Kersey. 

4 Caledonia. 






R F 1 E L \ 



1 . Elk, a bituminous mountain county, is bounded E. by 
Clinton and McKean, N. by McKean, W. by Jefferson, 
and S. by Clearfield. Area, 800 square miles. 



17. What is said of the resources ? 

18. Repeat its history, tvith dates. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Elk? 



FIFTH CLASS — ELK. 



239 



2. The Mountains are not in regular ridges, like those 
of the otlier mountain counties, but broken and scattered. 
Elk mountain in the south is the highest. The greater 
part of the county lies on the north-western slope of the 
Great Allegheny. 

3. The Streams Sire, Bennetts Branch of the Sin-ne-ma- 
ho'-ning^ in the east, and the head waters of Clarion river 
in the west, w^th their various tributaries. 

4. The Soil is various, about one-fifth being limestone^ 
and the remainder of the quality usually found on the west- 
ern slope of the Allegheny, being better adapted for pas- 
ture than tillage. 

5. The Minerals are, bituminous coal, in great abun- 
dance, limestone^ and iron- ore. 

6. Elk contains 8 townships and several small villages. 

7. The Towns are, Ridgway, the county-seat, on a 
branch of Clarion river, with about 200 inhabitants, and 
Williamsville, Caledonia, Kersey, Brandy-camp, Benezette, 
and St. Mary^s town. 

8. The only Public Improvement is the Milesburg and 
Smethport turnpike. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 2,000, and 
the assessed value of property, in 1845, $367,910. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were from the older counties of 
the state, many of them being of New England origin. A 
German settlement w^as formed in the southern part a few 
years ago. 

11. Their chief Employments are lumbering and 
farming. 

12. Their present Productions are considerable quan- 
tities of lumber, with grass, oats, and potatoes, and wheat, 
rye, and corn, in the southern part. Coal is not yet mined, 
except in small quantities for home use. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 16 common and 
some private schools. 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships and villag-es ? 

7. Name the county-seat and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Elk ? 

11. "What are their employments? 

12. Their productions? 

13. The literary institutions ? 



240 



STATE-BOOK OP PENNSYLVANIA. 



14. Elk, with Warren and McKean, elects 1 member to 
the House of Representatives, and with Warren, Clarion, 
Jefferson, Potter and McKean, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with Erie, Warren, McKean, Potter, Clarion, and Jeffer- 
son, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the eighteenth judi- 
cial district. 

15. The Townships a.Te, Benczette, Benzinger, Fox, Gibson, Jay, Joucs, 
Ridgway, and Spring Creek. 

16. Ridgway is a thriving village, selected as the countj'-seat in 
1843. It is named after the late Jacob Ridgway, of Philadelphia, 
who owned large tracts of land in the vicinity. It contains the ne- 
cessary county buildings, the court-house being a large handsome 
frame edifice. It is 150 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 260 N. W. of 
Philadelphia, and 110 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Caledonia is a thriving village on the Bennet's Branch, at the 
point where the road leading from Karthause to Ridgway intersects 
that stream. There is also a road from this point to Clearfield. 
The town was commenced a few years ago by settlers from New 
York and New England. 

18. The greater part of Elk is still a wilderness, abounding in 
bituminous coal and lumber. The soil is equal to that of any of 
the counties similarly situated. It only wants good roads, and facili- 
ties for getting to market, to become a flourishing and populous 
district. 

19. Deer, bears, wolves, and panthers are common in parts of 
the county, and it is said that some Elk and Beaver are still met. 
This is probably the only county in the state where the last-named 
animals yet exist. 

20. History. — Elk, till about 1810, remained unsettled. It was 
then included in Clearfield, Jefferson, and McKean. About that 
time, a few pioneers, chiefly of New England origin, began to esta- 
blish themselves. Of the first settlers, C. Brockway, P. Clarke, 
J. Horton, J. Nicholls, B. Leggett, J.Mason, T.Dent, S.Mead, J.Ky- 
ler, N. Rogers, F. Green, W. S. Meredith, and J. L. Gillis, still sur- 
vive. Their numbers increased slowly till 1843, when the county 
was separately organized, taking its name from Elk mountain. 
Since that time, the increase of population has been more rapid. In 
1842, the German Society's settlement was made a few miles north 
of Kersey, and added a large number to the citizens of Elk. 



14. How is it represented, and which 
is the judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 

16. Describe Ridgway. 



17. Caledonia. 

18. What is said of the resources of Elk 1 

19. Of the wild animals? 

20. Repeat its history. 



SIXTH CLASS FAYETTE. 



241 



SIXTH CLASS. 



FAYETTE COUNTY. 



Unlontown, 

2 Brownsville. 

3 Cookstown. 

4 Perryopoljs. 

5 Coniiellsville 

6 Monroe. 

7 Smithficld. 

8 Woodbridge. 

9 New Geneva. 

10 Germantown, 

11 NewSiUem. 

12 Bellevernon. 




1. Fayette, a western county^ is bounded E. by Somer- 
set, N. by Westmoreland, W. by Washington and Greene, 
and S. by Virginia and Maryland. Area, 800 square miles. 

2. The Mountains are. Laurel Hill, forming the eastern 
boundary, as far south as the Youghiogheny : and Chestnut 
ridge with its southern continuation, called also Laurel 
Hill, crossing the middle of the county from north to south. 

3. The Streams are, the Mon-on-ga-he!la, constituting 
its western boundary, and the Yough-io-ghen' y passing 
from south-east to north-west through the body of the 
county. Redstone, Dunlaph, and George"^ s creeks are tri- 
butaries of the former, and Indian and Jacobs of the latter. 
Big Sandy falls into Cheat river in Virginia. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I 2. The mountains? 
and area of Fayette ? | 3. Streams ? 

21 



242 



STATE-BOOK 0F» PENNSYLVANIA. 



4. The Soil in the north-west part is fertile, and well- 
adapted for agriculture. The eastern and south-eastern 
portions are uneven, and more suitable for pasture than 
tillage. About four-fifths of the county maybe cultivated. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, bituminous coal, lime- 
stone and iron-ore. 

6. Fayette contains 17 townships, 3 boroughs, and many 
thriving villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Uniontown, the seat of justice, 
on Redstone creek, w^ith 1710 inhabitants, Brownsville, 
w^ith 1362, and Bridgeport on the Monongahela, and Con- 
nellsville on the Youghiogheny ; the villages are, Perry opo- 
lis, Bellevernon, JVew Haven, Germantown, Smithjield, J\\w 
Geneva, Cookstown, Woodbridge, Haydentown, Monroe, 
JVew Salem, Merritstown, Middletown, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the JYational Road, or 
turnpike, crossing about the middle of the county from the 
south-east to the north-west, and several bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 33,574, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, $4,304,034. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were from Virginia and Mary- 
land, but were soon followed by many from the more east- 
ern parts of Pennsylvania. The population is now of a 
very mixed description. 

11. Their chief Employment is agriculture, though 
many branches of manufactures, such as those of iron, 
woollen, cotton, salt, and glass, and boat-building are car- 
ried on. 

12. Their Productions are, grain, live-stock, wool, iron, 
salt, glass, Sfc. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, a college, an aca- 
demy, and a female seminary, and 153 common schools. 
Education is in a prosperous condition. 

14. Fayette elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and with Greene, 1 to the Senate of the state, 



i. Soil ? 
5. Minerals? 

0. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements ? 



9. AVhat are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are their employments? 

12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is it represented, and wliich 
is the judicial district ? 



SIXTH CLASS FAYETTE. 243 

and 1 member of Congress ; and is in the fourteenth judi- 
cial district. 

15. The Townships are, BuIIskin, Dunbar, Franklin, George, Go-man, 
Henry Clay, Jefferson, Luzerne, Menallcn, Perry, Redstoiie, Saltlirk, Spring- 
hill, Tyrone, Union, Washington, and Wharton. 

16. UxioxTowx is pleasantly situated on the National turnpike, 
near the centre of the county, in a fertile region. It is a compact 
flourishing town, and contains the usual number of neat and spa- 
cious county buildings, 7 churches, Madison college, an academy, 
and a female seminary, with a large hotel. Its position on the Na- 
tional Road makes it a point of considerable travel and trade. It 
was laid out about 1770, and incorporated in 1796, by the name of 
the " Borough of Union," in commemoration of the union of the 
states. It is 184 miles S. W. of Harrisburg, 282 W. of Philadelphia, 
209 N. W. of Baltimore, and 59 S. E. of Pittsburg, by turnpike. 

17. Brou-nsville, 12 miles N. W. from Uniontown, on the Mononga- 
hela, Avhere it is crossed b)- the National Road, and near the mouth 
of Redstone creek, is a thriving town, with considerable manufac- 
turing and other business. The Monongahela having been improved, 
is navigable by steamboats from Pittsburg to this place. With Bridge- 
port, a large borough cfose to it, Brownsville contains 7 churches, a 
bank, town-hall, and several paper-mills, glass factories, piano facto- 
ries, a foundery, rolling-mill, and nail factory, with other manufac- 
turing establishments. Connecting Bridgeport with Brownsville 
there is a cast-iron bridge across Dunlap's creek; and a noble bridge 
over the Monongahela, 630 feet in length, erected at a cost of $50,000. 
Brownsville was laid oat in 1785 on the site of "Redstone old fort," 
a famous post in the early wars with the French and Indians. Near 
it, was also one of those ancient fortifications so common in the 
valley of the Ohio and Mississippi, whose origin is now unknown. 

18. Connellsville is a thriving manufacturing borough on the You- 
ghiogheny, 12 miles N. E. of Uniontown. It contains 4 churches, 
and has in the town or vicinity a number of furnaces, forges, and 
paper-mills, with a woollen-factory, and a bridge over the river. 

19. The National Road, which crosses a portion of Somerset and 
the whole of Fayette and Washington counties, connecting Cum- 
berland in Maryland with the Ohio river at Wheeling, and thence 
proceeding across the states of Ohio into Indiana, is the most import- 
ant improvement in south-western Pennsylvania. It was constructed 
by the national government for the purpose of connecting the states 
that lie between the Ohio and the Mississippi with the Atlantic cities, 
especially that of Washington. The design has not been completed, 
but has already been of great benefit. It is constructed in the most 
substantial manner, and as soon as the portion through any state is 
completed, the care of it is intrusted to the government of that state, 
by whom toll is collected and applied to the repair of the road. 

20. JJelany's cave, in West Laurel Hill, is a great natural curiosity. 



15. Name the townships. I 18. Connelkville. 

1(). Describe Uniontown. 19. The National Road. 

17. Brownsi'llle and Bridgeport. \ 20. Delnmj's cave. 



244 STATE-BOOK OF. PENNSYLVANIA. 



It has been explored to the distance of two-thirds of a mile, and con- 
tains many spacious chambers, with large streams passing through 
them. 

21. Ohio-pile Falls on the Youghiogheny, below the passage of the 
river through the main Laurel Hill, presents a scene of much wild- 
ness and beauty. The stream descends 60 feet in the course of a 
mile, exhibiting great variety of wild river scenery. 

22. Though Chestnut ridge, which is the last of the mountains 
westward, traverses this and the county of Westmoreland, extending 
into Indiana, yet they cannot be properly classed with the mountain 
counties. They are not only more similar in their mineral and 
agricultural productions to the western than the bituminous moun- 
tain group, but their climate, the pursuits of their population, and 
their business connections, include them in the former. 

23. HisTOKT. — The western part of Pennsylvania seems to have 
been chiefly occupied by roving bands of the Six Nations of Indians 
previous to its settlement by the English. The lower portion of it, 
including the Valley of the Monongahela with the Forks of the Ohio, 
(now Allegheny county,) was supposed to be within the bounds of 
Virginia, and the earlier grants of land were made under the laws 
of that state. The first attempt to settle this region was made about 
1748, by the Ohio Land Company, consisting of some London mer- 
chants and certain citizens of Virginia, two of whom were Lawrence 
and Augustine Washington, brothers of the General. Under their 
auspices, Christopher Gist, (afterwards the companion of General, 
then Mfyor, Washington on his journey to Fort Leboeuf in 1753,) 
explored the county, and made the first settlement within the pre- 
sent bounds of Fayette county, about 1752. In 1754, Colonel Wash- 
ington, while proceeding to occupy the Forks of the Ohio, was met 
by the French at the Great Meadows, where he built Fort Necessity, 
about 10 miles east of where Uniontown now stands. In the vici- 
nity he attacked and defeated them in the latter part of May, 1754. 
In consequence of the arrival of a large French force from Fort Du- 
quesne, (now Pittsburg,) Washington found himself compelled to 
surrender Fort Necessity on the 3d of July, and retreated with his 
men to Wills' creek. In 1755, Braddock, while on his way with a 
large force to attack Fort Duquesne, was defeated near the Monon- 
gahela in Allegheny county. He died of his wounds on the retreat, 
and was buried in the road near Fort Necessity, and not far from 
the present National Road, 10 miles east of Uniontown. After this 
disaster, the few settlements in the county were abandoned. In 
1759, Braddock's road or " trail," as it was called, having been im- 
proved and opened as far as the Monongahela, and Fort Redstone 
built, settlers, among whom was the notorious Cresap, began to en- 
ter the county again. They rapidly increased in numbers till 1774, 
when the murder of the Indians by Greathouse and Cresap on the 
Ohio, including the family of the well-known Logan, renewed the 
depredations of the savages, and reduced the settlers to great straits. 

21. Ohio-pile Falls. I 23. Repeat the history of the county, with 

32. What is said of the class to tchich dates. 
Fayette belongs ? \ 



SIXTH CLASS GREENE. 



245 



Durini? the Revolution, the settlers were kept in constant dread of 
the Indians, thouj^h the chief scene oi' the attacks of the latter was 
further west. This slate of things continued till 1795, when Wayne's 
successful operations entirely removed Indian warfare beyond the 
bounds of Pennsylvania. In 1783, the county was separately organ- 
ized, having before formed part of Westmoreland, and took the 
name of the Great French Volunteer in the cause of our country's 
independence. In 1794, it took a very moderate part in the Whisky 
Insurrection. Its prosperous history has since been marked by few 
incidents of general interest. 

24. Noted Citizexs. — Christopher Gist, the guide of General 
Washington during his first journeys and campaigns in the west, 
■was from Virginia, and was probably the first settler in Fayette 
county. He seems to have been a brave, sagacious, and enterpris- 
ing man. Col. William Crawford, also, one of the very earliest 
settlers, was from Berkely county, Va. He was a noted leader 
against the Indians, and served with distinction as colonel in the 
Revolution. He was taken by the Indians in 1782, while in com- 
mand of an expedition against their towns in Ohio, and inhumanly 
tortured to death, jllberl Gallatin, still living in New York, is a na- 
tive of Switzerland. He came to this country in 1780, in his 19th 
year. In 1785, he settled at and founded New Geneva, in Fay- 
ette, where he established glassworks. His talents soon distin- 
guished him. He has been a member of the state convention of 
1789 ; a member of Congress; secretary of the treasury of the United 
States; one of the commissioners at Ghent in 1813, and minister to 
France and England till 1826. 



GREENE COUNTY, 




1. Greene, the south-western county, is hounded E. by 
Fayette, N. by Washington, and W. and S. by Virginia. 
Its area is 600 square miles. 



24. Name the noted citizens. 



I 1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
I area of Greene I 

21* 



246 



STATE-BOOK OF •PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. No Mountains are found in this county, though its 
surface is generally hilly and uneven. 

3. The Streams are, the Mon-on-ga-he'la, forming the 
eastern boundary, into which fall Ten-mile^ Dmikard, 
Whitely and Muddy creeks ; and in the western part are 
the head waters of Wheeling and Fish creeks flowing 
through Virginia into the Ohio. 

4. The Soil, though hilly and cut into deep ravines by 
the w^ater-courses, is fertile, being, however, better adapted 
for pasture than tillage, except the river bottoms, which 
form first-rate farm land. The whole county may be said 
to be fit for the purposes of agriculture in one or other of 
its departments. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, plenty of bituminous 
coal, with limestone and some iron-ore. 

6. Greene contains 17 townships, 1 borough, and seve- 
ral villages. 

7. The Borough is Waynesburg on Ten-mile creek, 
with 500 inhabitants, and the villages are, Clarksville, Car- 
michaelstown, Jefferson, Greensburg, Mount Morris, Mw- 
ioivn, Clinton, ^c. 

8. There are no canals, railroads, or turnpikes in this 
county. Several state-roads have been from time to time 
laid out, and bridges are constructed over the principal 
streams. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 19,147, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $2,191,592. 

10. The first Settlers were from Virginia and Mary- 
land. They were soon followed by others from the east- 
ern counties of Pennsylvania and from New Jersey. To 
these have been added several German and Irish emigrants. 

11. Their Employments are, farming and raising live- 
stock. There are several woollen factories, glassworks, 
and oil-mills. 

12. The chief Productions are, all kinds oi grain, with 
large numbers of cattle, sheep, swine, and glass. 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. Townships, boroug-hs, and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. "Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their employments? 
12 Their productions? 



SIXTH CLASS — GREENE. 



247 



13. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies and 
56 common schools. 

14. Greene elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and \vith Fayette, I to the Senate of the state ; 
with Fayette and Somerset, 1 member of Congress; and 
is in the fourteenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Jleppo, Centre, Cumberland, Ihmknrd, 
FranJdin, Greene, Jarkson, Jefferson, Marion, Monon^ahcla, Morgan, Mor- 
ris, Perry, Rich-hill, Washington, Wayne, and Whitely. 

16. Wayncsburg is situated in a pleasant valley near the centre of 
the county, and contains a neat brick court-house and connty-offices, 
and a stone prison, with 5 churches and an academy. The scenery 
in the vicinity is delightful. It was laid out in 179G, and incoqio- 
ratcd in 1816, taking the name of the hero of Stony Point and the 
rescuer of the western frontier from Indian barbarities. It is 222 miles 
S. W. of Harris burg, 320 W. of Philadelphia, and 45 S. of Pittsburg. 

17. Greene county not having any turnpikes or other lines of pub- 
lic improvement leading to the great commercial marts of the state, 
has heretofore had its principal business connections with Virginia 
and Maryland. It, however, annually drives large numbers of live- 
stock, particularly swine, to the eastern counties of Pennsylvania. 

18. The face of the county, like that of the greater part of western 
Pennsylvania, is veiy uneven; the streams having worn deep chan- 
nels or ravines through the soil and into the softer coal-bearing 
rocks which form the surface. Though this operation of nature has 
rendered the land somewhat less convenient for tillage, it has had 
the beneficial effect of rendering easy of access the veins of coal, 
limestone, and other minerals, otherwise almost too deep for profit- 
able working. 

19. Hi STORY. — With the rest of the south-western corner of the 
state, this portion being long supposed to lie within the bounds of 
Virginia, was early visited by adventurers from that state and Mary- 
land. For a number of years, the county continued to be the scene 
of constant Avarfare between them and the Indians, aided by their 
French allies. Many heart-rending tales of murder and devastation 
are told of those trying days. In 1763, the French ceased to take 
part in the contest, but the Indian ravages continued till the close 
of the Revolution. From 1783, and especially from Wayne's sue-, 
cessful campaigns in 1794 and 1795, the quiet and safety of the 
frontier being secured, Greene began regularly to fill up with emi- 
grants from the older counties of this and the adjoining states. Its 
more rapid increase has been only retarded by the want of greater 
facilities of communication with the other parts of the state. It was 
erected into a separate county in 1796, till tlien having been included 
in Washington, and appropriately took the name of Washington's 
distinguished fellow-soldier. General Greene. 



]:$. Literary institutions? 

14. How is it represented, and what 
the judicial district? 

15. Name the towri^hip^. 

16. Dtscrihe Waynesbu^g. 



17. What is said of the business connec- 
tions of Crrw.jie? 
13. Of the face of the country ? 
Id. Repeat its history, with dates. 



248 



STATE-BOOK OF* PENNSYLVANIA. 



WASHINGTON COUNTY. 




1 Washington. 
3 Canonsbur^. 

3 Monongaliela. 

4 Greenfield. 

5 Frederick Town, 

6 HiUsboro'. 

7 Amity. 

8 Claysville. 

9 West Alexandria. 
10 Middletown. 
H Mt. Pleasant. 

12 Burgettstown 

13 Florence. 



1. Washington, a western county, is hounded E. by 
Fayette and Westmoreland, N. E. by Allegheny, N. by 
Beaver, W. by Virginia, and S. by Greene. Its area is 
850 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains, but, like the rest of south- 
western Pennsylvania, is hilly, being cut into deep ravines 
by the streams. 

3. The Streams are, the Mon-on-ga-he'la, its eastern 
boundary, into which flow the north fork of Ten-mile creek 
and Pigeon creek ; in the north Chartiers* and Raccoon^ 
two considerable creeks, fall into the Ohio below Pitts- 
burg; and in the west, the heads of Wheeling, Biiffalo, and 
some smaller creeks, run into the Ohio in Virginia. 

4. The Soil is highly productive, and, with little ex- 
ception, the whole county is susceptible of tillage. 

* Chartiers pronounced Shar'teers. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Washington? 

2. Has it any mountains? 



.3. AVhat are the streams? 
4. The soil ? 



SIXTH CLASS WASHINGTON. 



249 



5. The Minerals are, bituminous coal, limestone^ and 
some iron-ore and salt. 

6. Washington contains 27 townships, 7 boroughs, and 
numerous villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Washington, the seat of justice, 
on Catfish run, a branch of Chartiers creek, with 2062 in- 
habitants ; JMonongahela, formeily called Williamsport, 
Canonsburg, West Middletown, Claysville, Hillsboro, and 
Greenfield; and the villages are. West Alexandria, Bur- 
gettstown, Jlniity, Mount Pleasant, Bentleyville, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvkments are those in progress for 
the improvement of the Monongahela Navigation ; the 
JVaflonal Road across the county, from south-east to north- 
west ; a turnpike from Washington to Somerset through 
Mount Pleasant ; another from Washington to Pittsburg ; 
and several bridges. • 

9. The Population, in 1840, was41 ,279, and the assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was $7,172,092. 

10. The first Settlers were Scotch-Irish from the 
eastern counties and from Ireland, with many emigrants 
from Virginia, and subsequently considerable numbers of 
Germans 
now rapidly disappearing. 

11. Their chief Employment is agriculture, and the 
raising of cattle and sheep. 

12. Their Productions are, grain of all kinds, live- 
stock, wool in large quantities, glass and coal, though 
little of the latter is mined except for home use. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 2 colleges, with 
preparatory departments, 1 theological seminary, 1 supe- 
rior female academy, and 233 common schools; education 
being in a very prosperous state. 

14. Washington e/eds 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Beaver, 



But all differences of lano^uaii^e and habits are 



5. The minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
aiiil villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. AVlio settled the county ? 

11. What are their chief employ- 
ments? 

12. Their productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How are they represented, and 
which is the judicial district? 



250 STATE-BOOK OF •PENNSYLVANIA. 

1 member of Congress ; and is in the fourteenth judicial 
district. 

15. The TownshiTps a,re, Jmwell, E. Bethlehem, W. Bethlehem, Buffalo, 
Canton, Carroll, Cecil, Chartiers, Cross-creek, Donegal, Falloirfield, E. Fbid- 
ley, W. Findley, Hanover, Hopewell, Morris, Mount Pleasant, Nottingham, 
Peters, E. Pike-run, W. Pike-run, Robinson, Smith, Somerset, N. Straban, 
S. Straban, and Union. 

16. Washington is a large, pleasant, and flourishing town, noted 
for its literary institutions and elegant public and private edifices. 
They are, a spacious new court-house, with other county buildings, 
those of Washington college, a large female seminary, and 
9 churches. It has the advantage of the National turnpike, and 
those to Pittsburg and Philadelphia passing through it, and contains 
an extensive woollen factory. It was laid out in 1783, and incorpo- 
rated in 1810. It is 210 miles W. of Harrisburg, 308 W. of Phila- 
delphia, and 25 S. W. of Pittsburg. 

17. Monongahela city, formerly called Williamsport, at the mouth 
of Pigeon creek on the Monongahela, is a busy commercial and 
manufacturing town, and bids fair to attain considerable size. It is 
beautifully and 'advantageously situated, and besides 4 churches, 
contains two glass factories, with steam saw, and carding-mills, and 
other manufacturing establishments. Iron-ore and salt-wells, with 
abundance of coal, are found in the vicinity. 

18. Canonsburg is a quiet, pleasant town, 7 miles north of Wash- 
ington. It is noted as a place of learning, for Avhich purpose its 
retired position, moral and intelligent population, and cheap living, 
peculiarly fit it. It is the seat of Jefiferson college, and the theolo- 
gical seminary of the associate church. 

19. The two colleges of this county are, Washiyigton in the borough 
of Washington, and incorporated in 1806, and Jefferson in Canons- 
burg, in 1802. They are both flourishing institutions, and have been 
long known as desirable places of resort for those M^ho seek sound 
instruction, among an intelligent and orderly people, at small cost. 
Both colleges have the requisite number of professors, with the 
libraries, cabinets, and philosophical apparatus necessary to enable 
them to bestow an education as thorough and general as can be ac- 
quired in any similar institutions. 

20. The production of wool has latterly become the great business 
of this county; some of its citizens owning over 20,000 head of 
sheep each. In 1840, the number of these valuable animals in the 
county, mostly of the Merino and Saxon breeds, was 222,631, yield- 
ing annually about 600,000 pounds of wool. The number has since 
probably largely increased. For the successful prosecution of this 
pleasant and profitable business, the mild climate, variety of sur- 
face, and extensive pasture ranges of the county are well adapted. 

21. HisTORT. — After the close of Poniiac^s war in 1763, pioneers 
from the Scotch-Irish settlements of Cumberland Valley and Bed- 



15. Name the townships. 

16. Describe Washington. 

17. Monongahela city. 

18. Cnnonsbtirg. 



19. The colleges of the county. 

20. What is said of wool ? 

yi. Repeat the history of Washington till 
179Q. with dates. 



SIXTH CLASS — WASHINGTON. 251 



ford, and from Virginia, established themselves within the present 
bounds of Washington ; chiefly along the Monongahela. The land 
titles of the county were for some years rendered complicated by 
tlie claims of Virginia upon this part of Pennsylvania. This ceased 
in 1774, at which period, the settlements had extended westward 
to the Ohio in Virginia. In the opening of that year, the cold-blooded 
murders perpetrated by Greathouse and Cresap upon the Indians, 
including the family of Logan, at Captina and other places on the 
Ohio, brought upon the infant settlements the series of attacks that 
produced " Lord Dunmore's war." It was so called from the fact, 
that that nobleman, then governor of Virginia, led an expedition into 
Ohio against the Indians, which brought about a hollow peace in 
November of the same year. There is little doubt but that the ex- 
asperated feelings of the Indians produced by these murders were 
one of the causes of that succession of attacks and inroads which 
harassed the whole western frontier during the Revolution. The 
advanced settlements of Virginia and Ohio suflered moi^e than those 
of Pennsylvania from this scourge, but the latter were often dis- 
turbed. Expeditions were sent out to subdue or drive off the Indians 
in 1778, 1780, and 1782, but with little success. The like results 
attended the attempts of Harmer in 1789, and St. Clair in 1791; 
but in 1795, Wayne's efficient tactics completely secured the west- 
ern frontier against Indian depredations. In the mean time, the 
county of Washington had been erected out of Westmoreland in 
1781, and subsequently reduced to its present size by the forma- 
tion of Allegheny in 1788, and Greene in 1796; but had continued 
to grow in population and improvement under every danger and 
change. 

22. In the famous Whisky Insurrection, between 1791 and 1794, this 
county took the most active and leading part. This was an open, 
and organized resistance of the people of the four south-western coun- 
ties of Washington, Fayette, Allegheny, and Westmoreland, against 
the collection of a tax, called an excise, of four cents a gallon upon 
domestic distilled spirits, the law for the collection of which was 
passed by Congress on the Jth of March, 1791. The people resisted 
it because they said it bore severely upon the producers of grain at 
a distance from the Atlantic market. It was impossible for them to 
send the produce of their farms to the distant cities, over almost 
impassable mountains, in the bulky shape of grain or flour, whereas, 
in the form of distilled spirits, the produce of a farm was reduced to 
a small size and weight, and could be readily transported. They, 
therefore, said it was a tax upon them which eastern producers of 
grain did not pay. After open resistance on their part, and several 
modifications of the law by the government, for the purpose of re- 
moving objections, many of the people proceeded to actual violence 
upon the persons of the collectors of excise and others, in 1793 and 
1794. In August of the latter year, a meeting of delegates repre- 
senting the discontented from the four counties, with some from Bed- 
ford county and Virginia, took place at Parkinsoii^s Ferry, now 
Monongahela city. There, owing to the judicious management of 

22. State the cause and progress of the Wliisky Insurrrxtion. 



252 STATE-BOOK (9F PENNSYLVANIA. 

Albert Gallatin, H, H. Breckenridge, and others, the spirit of oppo- 
sition was greatly allayed, and moderate measures were adopted. 
In November, an army of 15,000 men, composed of volunteers from 
eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland, under 
the command of Gov. Lee, of Virginia, arrived at Pittsburg. Gov. 
Mifflin of Pennsylvania, Gov. Howell of New Jersey, Genl. Knox, 
secretary of war, and Genl. Hamilton, secretary of the treasury, ac- 
companied the army. Genl. Hand was adjutant-general. This 
force had been called out some time before by President Washington 
to quell the disturbance, but did not arrive till the spirit of opposi- 
tion to the law had mainly subsided. Still, a number of arrests 
were made, and a few persons sent to Philadelphia for trial. Two 
were convicted, but soon pardoned, the chief instigators of the dis- 
turbance having fled early, and thus escaped punishment. 

23. Since this noted era, nothing unusual has occurred in the 
annals of Washington county. It has gone on increasing not only 
in population and wealth, but in learning and social order, till it is 
now excelled in the last-named particulars by no part of the state. 

24. Noted Citizens. — Thomas PFat<.o«, the first president of Jeffer- 
son college, was a man of distinguished talent, and for acquirements 
remarkable for the disadvantages under which they were attained. 
He applied himself to the study of the Latin language during his 
leisure moments, while attending the bar of a tavern. Struck by his 
love of learning, some liberal friends of genius afforded him the 
means of pursuing his studies under better auspices. He graduated 
at Princeton with high reputation, and was soon elected president 
of the new college, but lived only a short time afterward. Joseph 
Ritner, lately governor of the state, is a native of Berks county, 
where he was born in 1780, but now resides in Cumberland. He 
was long a citizen of Washington, which he for six years represented 
with great ability in the House of Representatives of the state, of 
which body he was chosen speaker in 1824 and 1825. He filled the 
governor's chair from 1835 till 1838. 

23. Did any thing remarkable occur after- I 24. Naine the noted citizens, with their 
wards ? acts. 



SIXTH CLASS WESTMORELAND. 



253 



WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 




1. Westmoreland, a western county, is hounded S. E. 
by Somerset and Cambria, N. E. by Indiana and Arm- 
strong, W. by Allegheny and Washington, and S. by Fay- 
ette. Its area is 1000 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, Laurel Hlll^ forming the eastern 
boundary, and Chestnut ridge crossing it from south-west 
to north-east, about 12 miles from Laurel Hill. The rest 
of its surface is moderately hilly. 

3. The Streams are, the Al-le-ghen'y on the north-west, 
the Kis-Icim-in-e'-tas on the south-east, and the Yough-io- 
ghen'y and Monongahela on the west. The Loy-al-han'na 
traverses the north-east part of the county, and falls into 
the Kiskiminetas. Besides these, there are Se-wlck'lyy 
Jacob^Sj Beaver-dam, and Brush creeks. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I 2 The mountains ' 
and area of Westmoreland ? | 3. Streams ? 

22 



254 



STATE-BOOK Of PENNSYLVANIA. 



4. The Soil is fertile, except on the mountain ranges ; 
not more than one-fifth of it is unfit for cuhivation. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, bituminous coal, lime- 
stone, iron-ore, and salt. 

6. Westmoreland contains 19 townships, 8 boroughs, 
and several villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Greensburg, the seat of justice, 
near a small branch of Sewickly creek, with 800 inhabit- 
ants ; Mount Pleasant, JYew Alexandria, Youngstown, 
Ligonier, Adamsburg, West JYewton, and JYew Salem ; the 
villages are, Robbstown, Loughlinstown, Stewartville, Mur- 
raysville, Jacksonville, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Pennsylvania^ 
canal along the Kiskiminetas and down the Allegheny;' 
turnpikes from Bedford to Pittsburg, through Greensburg ; 
from Blairsville, on the Conemaugh, to Murraysville ; from 
Somerset to Wheeling, past Mount Pleasant ; and from 
Johnstown to Ligonier ; and several large bridges. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 42,699, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $5,312,068. 

10. The first Settlers were Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
mans, of whose descendants the present population is 
mostly composed. 

11. Their chief Occupation is agriculture, and their 
productions are, large quantities of grain, particularly wheat, 
with cattle, sheep, and swine. Salt is manufactured on the 
Kiskiminetas, and iron along the base of Laurel Hill. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
168 common schools. 

13. Westmoreland elects 3 members to the House of 
Representatives, and, with Somerset, 1 to the Senate of the 
state; with Bedford and Cambria, 1 member of Congress; 
and is in the tenth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Allegheny, Derry, Donegal, Fairfield, Frank- 
lin, Harmony, Hempfield, E. Huntingdon, N. Huntingdon, S. Huntingdon, 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. Townsliips, boroughs, and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their pursuits and pro- 
ductions ? 

12. Literary institutions? 

1:3. How is it represented, and which 
is the judicial district? 
14. Nai7ie the toxoishijis. 



SIXTH CLASS ^VESTMORELAND. 255 



Ligonicr, Loyalhanna, Mount Pleasant, Kostraver, Scwickly, Salem, Union, 
Unity, and lVasliins;ton. 

15. Greensburg, the Cdunty-town, is situated on the Pittsburg? and 
Bedford turnpike, in a fertile part of the county. It contains a large 
brick court-house and county-offices, and a stone prison, 6 churches, 
and an academy. It was laid out in 1783, and incorporated as a 
borough in 1799. It is named in honour of General Greene of the 
Revolutionary army, and is 268 miles N. W. of Philadelphia, 170 
W. of Harrisburg, and 32 S. E. of Pittsburg. 

16. Mount Pleasant is a stirring place on the Bedford and Wash- 
ington turnpike, 10 miles south of Greensburg. It occupies an ele- 
vated site, and contains 5 churches. 

17. Youngstown is near Chestnut ridge on the Bedford turnpike, 
11 miles E. of Greensburg. It is a pleasant town, with 2 churches. 

18. New Alexandria is a smart town 10 miles N. E. of Greensburg, 
on the northern turnpike, where it crosses the Loyalhanna. 

19. HisTORT. — Previous to 1758, the Forks of the Ohio, which 
was tlie great point of interest then as now in the western part of 
the state, was only approached from the east by the route of the 
Juniata and Kiskiminetas on the north, or by Braddock's road on 
the south. During that year, a portion of General Forbes' army 
opened a road through Bedford, the northern part of Somerset and 
Westmoreland, as far as the Loyalhanna. This detachment was 
commanded bv Col. Bouquet. In the fall of that year he established 
Fort Ligonier. When the army approached Fort Duquesne, they 
found it abandoned by the French and Indians. This prepared the 
way for numerous settlers from the eastern counties. They pos- 
sessed the land in quiet till Pontiac's war, in 1763, caused them to 
seek refuge in the forts, all of which were besieged, and some taken 
by the Indians. In August of the same year, the Indians having 
been totally defeated by Bouquet at Brushy run on his march to the 
relief of Fort Pitt, then surrounded by them, quiet was restored 
to the settlements of Westmoreland for some years. The county 
was regularly established in 1773, at which time it included the 
whole north-western corner of the state. It had before formed part 
of Bedford, and took the name of Westmoreland from its western 
position, and from the shire of the same name in England. Its 
county-town was Hanna's town, about 3 miles N. E. of the present 
site of Greensburg. Here it is said the first courts were held, west 
of the mountains. During the Revolutionary war, the settlers were 
again harassed by the savages. In 1782, Hannastown was burned 
by them, and does not seem to have been rebuilt. After this event, 
Westmoreland underwent the usual vicissitudes of the frontier till 
Wayne's success, and the treaty at Greenville, in 1795, established 
its security and that of other western counties. In 1781, Washing- 
ton was separated from it, and Fayette in 1783. Allegheny took 
off a part of its territory in 1788, and Indiana in 1803, In 1800, it 
was reduced to its present bounds by the erection of Armstrong. 

15. Describe Greensburg. I 18. Neie Alexandria. 

16. Mount Pleasant. 19. Relate the history of the county, with 

17. Youngstown. \ the dates. 



256 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



20, Noted Citizens. — General Arthur St. Clair was a native of 
Edinburgh in Scotland, and served under Genl. Wolf at the taking 
of Quebec. When the Revolutionary war broke out, having esta- 
blished himself in this county, he took the side of the colonies. He 
■served through the whole war with credit, and rose to the rank of 
major-general. In 1785, he was elected to Congress, and was chosen 
president of that body. He was governor of the territory north-west 
of the Ohio from 1803 till 1807. During this period he commanded, 
in 1791, the expedition against the Miami Indians, which terminated 
so disastrously. It is but justice to his memory, however, to state 
that, at the time of the attack, he was worn down by a fever, and 
was obliged to issue his orders from a litter. In 1792, he resigned 
his commission, and finally settled on Chestnut ridge in this county, 
where he died in 1818, in his 84th year. William Findlcy, an Irish- 
man by birth, was a citizen of Westmoreland. He frequently repre- 
sented the county in the State Legislature, and was long a prominent 
member of Congress. He was an influential member of the con- 
vention that formed the state constitution of 1790. 



ALLEGHENY COUNTY. 




1. Allegheny, a western county, is hounded E. by 
Westmoreland, N. by Butler, W. by Beaver and Wash- 
ington, and S. by Washington and Westmoreland. Area^ 
750 square miles. 



20. Name the noted citizens. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Allegheny ? 



SIXTH CLASS — ALLEGHENY. 257 



2. It has no Mountains, but is very hilly, being much 
broken by its numerous water-courses. 

3. Its Streajis are, the Al-le-ghenly from the north, 
and the Mon-on- ga-hdla from the south, uniting at Pitts- 
burg and forming the 0/u'o, which flows to the west ; the 
Yough-io-ghen'y flowing into the Monongahela from the 
south-east ; and Char-tiers', Peters, Pine, Bull, Turtle, and 
Po'ke'tas creeks. 

4. The Soil in the south-east portion of the county is 
excellent, being of limestone formation ; in the north-west 
lime is less abundant, but the soil being clayey, is sus- 
ceptible of great improvement. It is nearly all tillable. 

5. The Minerals are, bituminous coal in vast abundance 
and of great excellence, and limestone. 

6. Allegheny contains 23 townships, 2 cities, 6 boroughs, 
and many thriving villages. 

7. The Cities are, Pittsburg, the seat of justice, between 
the Allegheny and Monongahela, where they unite to form 
the Ohio, with 21,115 inhabitants, and AllegJieny, on the 
west side of the river Allegheny, with 10,089. The Bo- 
roughs are, Birmingham, Manchester, Lawrenceville, Eli- 
zabethtown, McKeesport, and Sharpsburg. The other towns 
and villages are. East Liberty, Wil/dnsburg, Sligo, Miners- 
ville, Steioartstovm, Baker stown, JVoblesboro, Tarentum, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Pennsylvania 
canal, connecting Pittsburg with Philadelphia ; ionr bridges 
over the Allegheny, and one over the Monongahela at 
Pittsburg, each a quarter of a mile long ; and numerous 
turnpikes. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 81,235, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $14,669,025. 

10. The FIRST vSettlers were chiefly Scotch-Irish, 
though many Germans and others have since established 
themselves. 

11. In the country districts, the pursuits of the people 



2. Has it any mountains? 

3. Name the streams. 

4. Describe the soil? 

5. The minerals ? 

6. How many townships, cities, bo- 
roughs, and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, cities, bo- 
roughs, and villages. 

22 



8. The public improvements. 

9. AVhat are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are the employments and 
productions of the county districts? 



258 



STATE-BOOK Off PENNSYLVANIA. 



are agricultural^ and their chief productions are grain and 
cattle, with some ilax and wool. 

12. The towns are actively engaged in manufactures of 
all kinds, and in a large commerce with the west and south- 
west ; steamboat-building is also extensively carried on. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, the Westerji Uni- 
versity, 3 theological seminaries, with classical academies, 
female seminaries, and numerous other literary and scien- 
tific establishments. There are 241 common schools in 
the county, and the cause of learning generally prospers. 

14. Allegheny elects 4 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Butler, 2 to the Senate of the state; 
1 member to Congress; forms the fifth judicial district; 
and has a separate District Court. 

15. The Townships are, Baldwin, E. Deer, W.Decr, Elizabeth, Fay- 
ette, Findley, Franklin, Indiana, Jefferson, Mifflin, Moore, Ohio, Peebles^ 
Pine, Pitt, Plum, Reserve, Robinson, Ross, Upper St. Clair, Lower St. Clair, 
Versailles, and Wilkins. * 




A View of Pittsburg, taken from "Day's Historical Collections of Pennsvlvania." 

16. The city of Pittsburg, in a commercial point of view, includes 
that of Allegheny, with the adjoining towns of Sligo, Birmingham, 



12. Of the towns? 

13. What are the literary institu- 
tions ? 



14. How is Allegheny represented, and 
what is the judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 



SIXTH CLASS ALLEGHENY. 



259 



Manchester, Lawrenceville, &c., having an aggregate population of 
50,000, and constituting the commercial capital of We.stern Penn- 
sylvania. 

17. Its first settlement as a town seems to have commenced in 
17G1. In 1775, tlie number of houses did not exceed 30. In 1784, 
Tench Francis, the agent of the Penn family, to whom the land be- 
longed as a manor, laid out town-lots, which sold readily, and from 
that time the place rapidly increased. It was incoiporated as a 
borough in 1794, and the name changed to Pittsburg, and as a city, 
in 1816. 

18. In 1811, the first steamboat on the western waters was built 
at Pittsburg, where upwards of one hundred are now owned. From 
Ihat era, its increase in size, business, and importance, became 
greatly accelerated, and its improvement in all the conveniences 
and embellishments of a large town kept equal pace. It is supplied 
with running water from the Allegheny by steam, and is lighted 
with gas. It has seven daily, ancl twice as many weekly news- 
papers. With its environs, it contains about 60 places of worship, 
together with the literary institutions already noticed. The court- 
house is a splendid edifice, having the county prison attached, and 
cost §200,000. Pittsburg contains 4 banks, and a number of insur- 
ance offices. Among its vast manufacturing establishments are 
many iron-founderies, rolling-mills, forges, nail, steam-engine, and 
steel factories ; glassworks, steam Hour and saw-mills ; rope-walks 
and smith-shops ; with shops for the manufacture of agricultural 
implements, carriages, cabinet-ware, paper, leather, hats, and almost 
every article of use or fancy. 

19. The greatest calamity that ever befel this city was the great 
fire in 1845, from which, so great are its enterprise and resources, 
it recovered in a few months, though one-third of the town was 
consumed. 

20. The prosperity of Pittsburg is the efiect of its position at the 
head of the navigable Ohio, and of its exhaustless beds of coal. The 
first renders it the great distributing point, to the west and south- 
west, of the articles which wmj/iercc bears overland from the Atlantic 
cities; and the second enables it to mamifadwc, for the same market, 
other articles of indispensable use, whose carriage from abroad is 
thereby saved. These natural advantages can never be taken away. 

21. Pittsburg is 300 miles west of Philadelphia and 200 of Har- 
risburg, by turnpike, and 394 from the former and 286 from the lat- 
ter, by canal and railway. 

22. The Slate Penitentiary, for the western district, is in Allegheny 
city. It is constructed on the same plan, and managed in the same 
manner, as the one at Philadelphia, but is not so large. 

33. There are a great number of flourishing towns in Allegheny 
county, of which only a short description can be here given. 



16. Wliat is embraced in Pittsburg ? 

17. ^Vhen was it laid out and incorpo- 
rated ? 

18. Wliat does it contain^ and what is 
its business ? 

19. What befell it in 184.5." 



20. What is the cause of its prosperity ? 

21. Wint is its distaiice frmn Ph'dadel- 
phia and Harrusburi; ? 

22. Wliereisthe Western penitentiary ? 

23. ^Vhat is said of the other toivns ? 



260 STATE-BOOK C*' PENNSYLVANIA. 



24. Birmivgham is beautifully situated one mile south of Pittsburg, 
on the opposite side of 'the Monongahela. It has a turnpike connec- 
tion with Elizabethtown, and a bridge to Pittsburg. It contains 
several extensive glass and iron-works, and several other manufac- 
tories, 2 churches, and 1554 inhabitants. 

25. Manchester is a place of more recent growth, on the north side 
of the Ohio, about a mile below Pittsburg. It is also a busy manu- 
facturing town, with many pleasant country-seats on the high 
grounds in its rear. 

26. Sligo is on the south side of the Monongahela, opposite Pitts- 
burg. It contains extensive iron-works, glass-works, and boat yards. 
All the coal used in these establishments, together with a large 
quantity for shipment, is taken out of the hill behind the town, and 
let down to the factories in which it is used, or to the wharves where 
it is shipped, on short railroads. Sligo contains 2 churches. 

27. Lawrenceville is on the east bank of the Allegheny, 2^ miles 
above Pittsburg. It contains 3 churches and 867 inhabitants, and 
has many manufacturing establishments, such as woollen, paper, and 
edge-tool factories, boat-yards, &c. In this town the United States 
arsenal is situated, and near it are several handsome country-seats. 

28. Sharpsbvrg is on the east side of the Allegheny, 5 miles above 
Pittsburg, with the state canal passing through it. It contains 
several boat-yards, and is a busy to-\j^n. 

29. McKeesport is 12 miles from Pittsburg, at the junction of the You- 
ghiogheny with the Monongahela. It contains several boat-yards, 
saw-raills, and flour-mills, and in the immediate vicinity are many 
mines, from which a vast quantity of bituminous coal is annually 
raised for the supply of the towns on the Ohio and Mississippi. 

30. Elizabethtown is a busy manufacturing town, beautifully placed 
on the east side of the Monongahela, 16 miles from Pittsburg. It 
contains a number of boat-yards, factories, mills, and a glass-house, 
with 3 churches. 

31. Tarentum is on the west side of the Allegheny and on the state 
canal, 21 miles above Pittsburg. There are a number of mills here 
propelled by the water-power of the canal. It is a growing town, 
with 2 churches. 

32. Bakerslown is a pleasant country-village on the turnpike to 
Butler, and 16 miles from Pittsburg. It is in a flourishing agri- 
cultural district, and supplies many articles to the Pittsburg market. 

33. To this list might be easily added as many more, most of 
them being groAving and prosperous towns, with various manufac- 
turing, mining, or commercial establishments. From this it is evi- 
dent, "that though Allegheny county is a rich and fertile agricultural 
district, yet her commercial, manufacturing, and mining interests 
exceed all others ; and that the prosperity of her farmers must be 
greatly promoted by the home demand thus created for their produce. 



24. Of Birmingham ? 

25. Manchester? 
!2G. Sligo? 

27. Laiorencevilk ? 

28. Sharpsburg? 

29. McKeesport? 



no. Elizabethtown ? 

31. Tarentum? 

32. Bakerstown? 

33. What is evident from the number and 
kind of toivns ? 



SIXTH CLASS ALLEGHENY. 261 

34. Hi STOUT. — Lon^ before it became permanently settled, the 
territory of this county was known, and its importance duly appre- 
ciated by the whites. Genl. Washington, on his way to Le Bucuf, 
in 1753, examined the "forks" of the Ohio, (now Pittsburg,) with a 
view to the establishment of a fort to check the incursions of the 
Indians, and encroachments of the J'rench. In the spring of 1754, 
a body of Virginians commenced the work, but were captured by 
the French, who completed and called it Fort Duqucsnc. In ] 755, 
Genl. Braddock was defeated and killed in a<^ attempt to retake the 
post. 

35. The French retained it till 1758, when it was abandoned to 
Genl. Forbes. In 1759, Genl. Stanwix constructed a formidable 
work, embracing the old fort, and called it Fort Pitt, in honour of 
the distinguished British statesman of that name. It remained in 
the possession of the English till the beginning of the Revolutionary 
war, when it fell into the hands of the Americans, and with it the 
control of the surrounding country. 

36. During and subsequent to the Revolutionary war, its inland 
position secured this (founty from foreign attack, but it continued to 
be much annoyed by the Indians. Several expeditions were de- 
spatched from Fort Pitt against them. While Genl. Brodhead com- 
manded here, in 1780 and subsequently, one of the principal Indian 
fighters of this part of the west was the famous Capt. Samuel Brady, 
whose daring exploits are still the theme of wonder. In 1788, Alle- 
gheny, including all the territory of Pennsylvania north and west 
of the Ohio and Allegheny, became a separate county, taking 
the name of one of its rivers. It had previously formed part of 
Westmoreland. 

37. From 1791 till 1794, the Whisky Insurrection disturbed Alle- 
gheny, in common with the other south-western counties. After the 
large force sent out on that occasion had been disbanded, many of 
the volunteers being pleased with the countr}^ returned from the east- 
ern counties and states, and became permanent settlers. The county 
was completely freed from Indian atrocities by Wayne's campaign, 
and after 1795, no further injury was experienced from that quarter. 
In 1800, Butler, Beaver, Mercer, Venango, Crawford, and Erie, were 
formed out of its extensive territory to the north and west, and Alle- 
gheny reduced to its present limits. Since that era, its course has 
been one of almost uninterrupted prosperity. 

38. Noted Citizens. — Tlmnas Hut chins, a distinguished geogra- 
pher and historian, who published several works of merit, was born 
in New Jersey about 1730, but early settled in Pittsburg, Mhere he 
died in 1789. General John Neville was born in Virginia in 1731. 
He was present as a lieutenant at Braddock's defeat, and subse- 
quently served through the whole Revolutionary war. After the 
close of that contest, he became a citizen of Allegheny, and held 
several distinguished civil offices. In 1791, when the excise law 

34. Repeat the history of Allegheny under \ 37. What happened then, and subse- 
the French. qimitly? 

3.'>. Under the British. 38. Name the noted citizens. 

30. From the Revolution till 1791. 



262 STATE-BOOK oV PENNSYLVANIA. 

was passed, General Washington appointed him inspector under it, 
hoping that his great personal popularity might aid in allaying the ex- 
citement against that unpopular act. This hope proved groundless, 
for his house was burned, his property destroyed, and his life threat- 
ened by the insurgents. He continued, however, to enjoy the confi- 
dence of Washington during the life of that great and good man, 
and died in 1803. Presley Neville, his son, was an accomplished 
scholar and distinguished citizen. He was also a soldier of the 
Revolution, during part of which period he acted as aide-de-camp to 
General La Fayette. He removed to Ohio in 1815, where he died 
in 1819. Isaac Craig was born in Ireland in 1743, and emigrated to 
America in 1 768. He served as captain of marines on board the 
Andrew Doria, under Captain Nicholas Biddle, and subsequently 
became a captain of artillery. He was present at the battles of 
Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown. He held im- 
portant military offices during the administration of Washington 
and Adams, and died in 1826. James O'Hara was also a native of 
Ireland. He and Isaac Craig established the first glassworks at 
Pittsburg. He was also the first person who transported salt from 
Salina, in New York, to western Pennsylvania. By that means, the 
price of this indispensable article was at once reduced to one-half 
that which it had cost when packed on horseback over the mountains 
from the Atlantic cities. Major Abraham Kirkpatrick was a native of 
Maryland. He served during the Revolutionary war, and at its close 
settled in Pittsburg. He was quartermaster-general during the ad- 
ministration of President Washington, and during his whole life was 
distinguished for an utter want of personal fear. Hugh Henry Breck- 
enridge was born in Scotland in 1750. When five years of age, he 
came with his father to America. After a variety of pursuits, he 
studied law, settled in Pittsburg in 1781, and soon became distin- 
guished. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the 
state in 1800, and died in 1816. He was a man of great eccentricity 
of character, but of considerable acquirements, and was the author 
of Modern Chivalry and Law Miscellanies. Joseph Addison was the 
first judge who presided in Allegheny county under the Constitution 
of 1790, and was an accomplished scholar. Henry Baldwin was born 
at New Haven, in Connecticut, about 1776, and early settled in 
Pittsburg. He was an able lawyer, and for several years a promi- 
nent member of Congress. He was appointed by President Jackson 
a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, which office he 
filled till his death in 1844. 



SIXTH CLASS — INDIANA. 



263 



INDIANA COUNTY. 




1. Indiana, a western county, is hounded E. by Cam- 
bria and Clearfield, N. by Jefferson, W. by Armstrong, 
and S. by Westmoreland. Its area is 775 square miles. 

2. Its Mountains are, Laurel Hilly terminating in 
large irregular hills in the south-eastern corner of the 
county, and Chestnut ridge , entering it from Westmoreland, 
about 10 miles west of Laurel Hill, and extending; north- 
ward nearly half its length. The rest of Indiana presents 
the usual hilly appearance of the western counties. 

3. The Streams are, the Con-e-maugh' , (called the Kis- 
kirainetas lower down,) forming its southern boundary, 
into which flows Blacklick, with its tributaries, Twolick 
and Yellow creeks. Ma-ho'-ning diud Crooked creeks pass 
westv/ard across Armstrong to the Allegheny. In the east, 
some of the head waters of the West Branch arise. 

4. The Soil of the northern and western parts resem- 
bles that of the western counties generally, but is not quite 
so fertile as those to the south-west of it. The mountains 
are of course barren. About three-fourths of its area may 
be cultivated. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area ot" Indiana 1 



2. The mountains? 

3. Streams?^!. Soil? 



264 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



5. The Minerals are, biiiiminous coal, salt, iron-ore, 
and limestone. 

6. Indiana contains 12 townships, 4 boroughs, and a 
number of pleasant villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Indiana, the seat of justice, near 
Twolick creek, with 674 inhabitants ; Blair sville, on the 
Conemaugh, with 990 ; Saltzhurg and Armagh. The vil- 
lages are, Georgeville, Home, Shelocta, Lewisville,JYichols^ 
burg, Medianicsburg, Strongstown, 8fc. 

8. The Public Improvements are the Pennsylvania ca" 
nal, along the Conemaugh ; the northern turnpike crossing 
the south-east corner of the county, from Ebensburg to 
Blairsville, and another from Ebensburg to Kittanning, 
through Indiana. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 20,782 ; and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $2,142,176. 

10. The first Settlers were principally Irish, and a 
majority of the present population are their descendants, 
though many Germans have since established themselves 
in the county. 

11. Their chief Pursuits are, agriculture, lumbering, 
and the manufacture of salt. 

12. The Productions are, grain, lumber, and salt. 
Many horses, cattle, and sheep are raised and driven to 
the east. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
130 common schools. There are many churches in the 
county. 

14. Indiana elects 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, with Clearfield, Cambria, and Armstrong, 1 to 
the Senate of the state ; with Clearfield, Armstrong, and 
Butler, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the tenth judicial 
district. 

15. The Townships are, Armstrong, Blacklick, Brush Valley, Centre, 
Conemaugh, Greene, Mahoning, Montgomery, Washington, Wheatficld, 
White, and Yoiing. 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townsliips, boroughs and 
villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The. public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? I 



10. "Who settled Indiana? 

11. "What are their employments? 

12. Productions ? 

13. Literary institutions? 

I'l. How is Indiana represented, and 
what is its judicial district? 
15. Name the townships. 



SIXTH CLASS — INDIANA. 265 



16. Indiana, the county-town, is pleasantly seated on hifjh ground 
near the centre of the county. It is neatly built, and contains the 
requisite county buildings, 4 churches, and an academy. It was 
laid out in 1805, and incorporated in 1816, its name and that of the 
county being formed from the word Indian. It is 248 miles N. W. 
of Philadelphia, 150 N. W. of Ilarrisburg, 54 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Blairsville is a nourishing tow^n on the Conemaugh, below the 
mouth of Blacklick creek, and has principally sprung up since 
the commencement of the state canal. It is a place of considerable 
trade, especially in the pork business. It contains 5 churches, and 
has a noble bridge, of one arch of 295 feet, over the Conemaugh. 

18. Snlizlnu-g is also on the Conemaugh, 10 miles below Blairs- 
ville. It is so called from the numerous salt-works in the vicinity. 

19. Nine miles below Blairsville, the western division of the state 
canal passes through a. tunnel of 1000 feet in length, cut through the 
rock. At the same point it crosses the Conemaugh by means of a 
large and substantial stone aqueduct. 

20. The lowest summit, in Pennsylvania, between the waters of the 
Susquehanna and those of the Ohio, is said to be in the north-eastern 
part of Indiana. This point is between Cushing creek, emptying 
into the West Branch, and Two-lick into the Conemaugh. 

21. Near the same place was the Cherry-tree station, somewhat 
noted among the early settlers of the west, as being the highest point 
on the West Branch to which a canoe could be pushed. From this 
place an Indian path led to the old Indian town of Kittanning. 

22. Though more uneven and hilly than most of the other western 
counties, Indiana possesses all the resources of that class. She con- 
tains coal, salt, iron-ore, and limestone, has the advantage of vici- 
nity to the public works of the state, and enjoys a pleasant climate. 
She is, therefore, rapidly becoming a rich and prosperous county. 

23. HisTonr. — The first permanent settlement of the county was 
made in 1771, near where the town of Indiana now stands, by Scotch- 
Irish from Cumberland Valley. Their numbers slowly increased, 
and they seem to have enjoyed peace with the Indians till the break- 
ing out of the Revolution drove the latter into open hostility. From 
that period, they suffered much, and many were forced io abandon 
their improvements, till Wayne's peace, in 1795, rendered their return 
safe. After tliat event, the county slowly became peopled. It was 
separated from Westmoreland and Allegheny in 1803. Many Ger- 
man citizens have since been added to the population, which has 
more than doubled in the last twenty years. 

24. Noted Citizens. — William Johiston wsiS the first to introduce 
the manufacture of salt into this region. This act, in point of real 
utility, exceeds most of those public services which are generally 
more lauded. 



16. Be'icrihe the town of Indiana. 

17. Blairsville. 
18 Snltzbtirg. 

19. Vtlint is said of the tunnel? 

20. Of the summit ? 



21. Of Cherry-tree station ? 

22. Of the resources of Indiana ? 

23. Repeat its history, tvith dates. 

24. Name the fwted citizen. 



23 



266 



STATE-BOOK OF- PENNSYLVANIA. 



ARMSTEONG COUNTY. 




1 Kittanning. 

2 Freeport. 

3 Leechburg. 

4 Warren. 

5 Middletown. 

6 Lawrenceburg. 



1. Armstrong, a western county, is hounded E. by In- 
diana and Jefferson, N. by Clarion, W. by Butler, and S. 
by Westmoreland. Area 625 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains, but its surface is generally 
broken and hilly. 

3. The Streams are, the Allegheny^ which traverses it 
from north to south, and is navigable except during low 
water, and the Kis-ki-min-e'tas which separates it from 
Westmoreland. The creeks are, the Red Bank, Mahoning, 
Crooked, Pine, Buffalo, 8fc. 

4. The Soil is various. The rolling land in which 
limestone occurs is fertile, and the river bottoms are among 
the most productive in the state. Much of the residue, 
forming about one-fourth of the county, is unfit for culti- 
vation. 



1, What are the class, boundaries and 
area of Armstrong? 

2. Its mountains? 



3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 



SIXTH CLASS ARMSTRONG. 



267 



5. The Minerals arc, coal^ irorij saltj and limestone 
in abundance. 

6. It contains, 12 townships^ 2 boroughs, and some 
sraall villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, KU-tan!ning^ the scat of justice, 
on the Allegheny, with 702 inhabitants, and Freeport^ with 
727 inhabitants. The villages arc, Leechburgj Warren^ 
Lawrenceburgy Middletown, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Pennsylvania 
canal, which passes along the Kiskiminetas, and turnpikes 
to Indijtna and Butler. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 19,500 ; and, in 1845, 
the assessed value of property was $1,618,800. 

10. Some of the people are of German, and some of 
Irish origin. Many are from the adjoining counties. 

11. Their Pursuits are chiefly agricultural. 

12. The Productions are, grain, cattle, some loool, and 
large quantities of lumber. To these are to be added the 
considerable amount of 5a// and iron annually manufactured. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
female seminary, and 152 common schools. 

14. Armstrong elects 1 member to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Clearfield, Indiana, and Cambria, 
1 to the Senate of the state ; with Buder, Indiana, and 
Clearfield, 1 member of Congress; and is in the tenth 
judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Allegheny, Buffalo, Franklin, Kittanning, 
Kiskiminetas, Madison, Perry, Pine, Plum creek, Red Bank, Sugar creek, 
and Wayne. 

16. Kittanning is pleasantly seated on the river-flat of the Alle- 
gheny, with high hills in its rear. It is regularly laid out, and con- 
tains the usual county buildings, with 3 churches. It occupies the 
site of an old Indian town of the same name, which was a noted 
point on the great Indian path, from the upper Ohio to the waters 
of the Susquehanna. It was laid out m 1804, and incorporated in 
1821. It has an ingenious wire ferry, the boat being driven across 
the river by the force of the current striking against its side in an 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty I 



10. Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their pursuits? 

12. Their productions ? 
1.3. liitcrary institutions ? 

14. How is the county represented, and 
what is its judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 
IG. Describe Kittanning. 



268 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

oblique direction. Kittanning is 45 miles N. E. of Pittsburg, 186 
W. of Harrisburg, and 284 of Philadelphia. 

17. Freeport is a busy town with 727 inhabitants, on the Allegheny, 
and on the western division of the state-canal. It is 16 miles below 
Kittanning. It contains 5 churches, 2 steam woollen factories, a 
steam saw and flour-mill, and has a number of salt-works in the 
vicinity. 

18. Leechburg is also on the canal, 15 miles from Kittanning. A 
dam at this point has been constructed across the Kiskiminetas, 
27 feet high and 574 long, for the supply of the canal. The water- 
power thus created is yet unimproved. Leechburg contains about 
250 inhabitants. 

19. There are several furnaces and other iron-works in operation 
in the county. Of these, the Great Western iron-icorks in the north- 
west corner are said to be among the most extensive in the Union. 
There are also a number of saU-ico7-ks which have long been esta- 
blished. On the whole, it would seem as if Armstrong bids fair to 
add manufactures to her other means of wealth. 

20. History. — Previous to 1756, the history of this county is the 
same as that of the surrounding region. In that year, Genl. (then 
Col.) Armstrong, of Cumberland county, led an expedition against 
the Indian town of Kittanning, which he took and burned. In 1768, 
the eastern portion of its territory was purchased by the state from 
the Indians, and in 1784, that part lying west of the Allegheny. In 
1780, and for some years after, it was the scene of many Indian 
fights, in which Samuel Brady, the famous captain of the scouts, bore 
a gallant part. It received few settlers till 1800, when it was formed 
into a separate county out of parts of Lycoming, Westmoreland, and 
Allegheny. It was named in honour of Genl. Armstrong, whose 
family owned the site of the county-seat where he had destroyed the 
old Indian town. Since 1830, the completion of the state-canal has 
added to its population and wealth. In 1839, its northern end was 
taken off to form part of the new county of Clarion. 

21. Noted Citizens. — Robert Orr, an Irishman by birth, settled 
in western Pennsylvania in 1773, and, partly at his own expense, 
raised a volunteer company in 1781, with which he joined General 
Clarke's forces against the Indians on the Ohio. He was wounded 
and taken in that disastrous expedition, and remained prisoner at 
Montreal till 1783. He was an associate judge of Armstrong from 
its first organization till 1833, when he died. 

17. Freeport. I 20. Repent the history of the county. 

18. Leechburg. • 21. Name a noted citizen. 

19. What is said of manufactures . \ 



SIXTH CLASS — JEFFERSON. 



269 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 




1. Jefferson, a western county, is hounded E. by Clear- 
field and Elk, N. by Warren, W. by Venango and Cla- 
rion, and S. by Indiana. Its area is 950 square miles. 

2. Though it contains no Mountains, the county is hilly 
and uneven. 

3. The Streams are, the Clanon and Red Bank, with 
their branches in the central part of the county, the Ma- 
lioning in the south, and the Te-o-nes'ta in the extreme 
north-west. All flowing south-westwardly towards the 
Allegheny. 

4. The Soil of the river bottoms is excellent ; that of 
the level uplands is also moderately fertile ; but the hill 
sides are generally rocky and broken. About three- 
fourths of it may ultimately be fit for cultivation. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, I 3. Streams? 
and area of Jefferson? 4. Soil? 

2. Its raountains 7 I 

23* 



270 



STATE-BOOK 09 PENNSYLVANIA. 



5. The chief Minerals are, bituminous coal, with some 
iron-ore and limestone. 

6. Jefferson contains 14 townships, 1 borough, and a few 
small villages. 

7. The Borough is 5rooA:m//e, the seat of justice, with 
276 inhabitants, and the villages are, Port Barnett, Punxa- 
tawny, Troy, Jefferson, ^c. 

8. The only Public Improvements are, the Bellefonte 
and Erie turnpike passing through Brookville, and the 
state road from Kittanning to Olean Point in New York. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 7,253, and the as- 
sessed value oi property, in 1845, $821,298. 

10. The first Settlers were chiefly from the older 
counties of the state, many of them being of New^ England 
origin, and recently a number of German emigrants have 
established themselves in the southern part. 

11. Their main Occupation heretofore has been lum- 
hering, the county containirtg much excellent pine timber, 
and many saw-mills. But latterly, considerable attention 
is given to agriculture and the raising of live-stock. 

12. Their Productions are large quantities of excellent 
lumber sent down the chief streams, with a sufficiency of 
grain and other agricultural produce for the support of 
the inhabitants. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
73 common schools. 

14. Jefferson elects, with Clarion and Venango, 2 mem- 
bers to the House of Representatives, and, with Clarion, 
Warren, McKean, Potter, and Elk, 1 to the Senate of the 
state ; with Erie, Warren, McKean, Potter, Elk, and Cla- 
rion, 1 member of Congress; and is in the eighteenth 
judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Barnett, Clover, Eldred, Gaskell, Jenks, Pernj, 
Pine creek, Porter, Rose, Snyder, Teonesta, Warsaw, Washington, and 
Yoimg. 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 



10. Who settled the county? 

11. What is their chief occupation? 

12. Their productions? 

13. liiterary institutions? 

14. How is Jefferson represented, and 
what is its judicial district ? 

15. Name the townships. 



SIXTH CLASS JEFFERSON. 271 

16. Brookville, the county town, is pleasantly seated on the sources 
of the Red Bank, or Sandy-lick creek. It was laid out in 1830, and 
incorporated in 1834, and, with the usual county buildinjs^s, contains 
an academy and 1 church. It is supplied with running water in 
pipes. It is 167 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 265 N. W. of Phila- 
delphia, and 85 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Punx-a-tan/mj is a pleasant little village in the southern part 
of the county, on Mahoning creek. 

18. Like most of the new northern counties, Jefferson yet contains 
few towns or villages properly so called. Most of those marked on 
the maps are merely settlements, or places where the population is 
more dense than in other parts of the county. These scattered 
hamlets usually contain a school-house, a number of saw-mills, and 
occasionally a church. Many of them will no doubt become flou- 
rishing towns. 

19. When Jefferson shall be cleared of the heavy pine forests that 
now cover a great portion of its surface, it will prove a rich and pros- 
perous county. The soil, though not the most fertile in the state, is 
productive, and particularly well-adapted for raising sheep and live- 
stock of all kinds. It has abundance of coal, with considerable 
quantities of iron-ore, and some limestone, and contains many large 
streams, with abundance of water-power. All these advantages 
must, before many years, produce their full effect in the hands of 
an intelligent and enterprising population. This result will be hast- 
ened, when the distant holders of large tracts of land shall see, as 
they must, the policy either of improving them, or of selling to those 
who will. 

20. HisTORT. — The first permanent settlement in the county was 
made at Port Barnett, 1 mile east of Brookville, in 1797, by settlers 
from the West Branch. From 1800 till 1804, a few others from differ- 
ent places followed. In the latter year, the county was erected out 
of parts of Lycoming, taking its name from the third President of the 
United States; but was not regularly organized for judicial purposes 
till 1830. From that time, the county began to receive settlers pretty 
rapidly. A number of Germans established themselves in the 
southern part, and several enterprising citizens from New England 
and New York gave an impulse to the lumber trade, which has 
added largely to its business and wealth. In 1843, it lost part of its 
territory by the erection of Elk count3\ 

21. Noted Citizens. — Joseph Burnett was the first settler in the 
county. He was from the West Branch, and had served during the 
Revolution under General Potter, and subsequently on the part of the 
state in the Wyoming troubles. He settled Port Barnett in 1797. 

IG. Describe Brookeville. I 19. Of the rt$ources of Jefferson? 

17. Pun.ratawny. 20. Repeat its historij. with dates. 

Is. Wiiat is said of the towns? \ 21. Name a noted citizen. 



272 



STATE-BOOK OP PENNSYLVANIA. 







CLARION COUNTY. 




\ 

•itnc'Tsr. 




PERSON 




1% 


T^W;; 




1 CL-irion. 

2 Strattonville. 

3 Greenville. 

4 Hiilingsburg. 

5 CiiticsviUe. 

6 Ciillenburg. 

7 ShippenviUe. 

8 Foxburjc. 


OUT 

1 

1 


L E F 


A R^tT^S 


HiT R IM C 


> 



1. Clarion, a western county, is hounded E. by Jeffer- 
son, N. by Venango, W. by Venango and Butler, and S. 
by Armstrong. Area^ 600 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains. The surface is hilly and rolling. 

3. The chief Streams are, the Allegheny river ^ passing 
along its south-west border, and Clarion and Red Bank 
creeks^ both emptying into the Allegheny. 

4. The Soil is fertile and adapted to the growth of grain, 
except a portion along the streams, which is much broken. 
Four-fifths of it may be fit for tillage or pasture. 

5. The Minerals are, bituminous coaly iron-ore^ and 
limestone. 

6. It contains 14 townships^ 1 borough, and a few 
villages. 

7. The Borough is Claiion, the seat of justice, on the 
Clarion, with 500 inhabitants; the villages are, Stratton- 
ville, Shippensville, Greenville^ Carlesville, Callenburg, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, a turnpike from Cla- 
rion to Bellefonte and Meadville. 



1. AVhat are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Clarion? 

2. Has it any mountains? 

3. What are the streams ? 

4. Describe the soil. 



5. The minerals. 

(i. }!ow many townships, borouglis, 
and villages ? 

7. Name them, and the county-seat. 

8. The publit improvements. 



SIXTH CLASS CLARION. 



273 



9. The Population, in 1840, was about 9,500, and in 
1845 the assessed vakie o{ property was $1,294,796. 

10. The Inhabitants are generally from other parts of 
the state. 

11. They are chiefly engaged in agriculture^ and the 
lumber and iron business. 

12. Their Productions are those of a new fertile coifnty, 
with large quantities of lumber and iron. 

13. i'he Literary Institutions are, an academy, and 
90 common schools. 

14. Clarion elects, with Jefferson and Venango, 2 mem- 
bers to the House of Representatives ; with Warren, Jeffer- 
son, Elk, McKean, and Potter, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
and, with Erie, Warren, McKean, Potter, Elk, and Jeffer- 
son, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the eighteenth 
judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Beaver, Clarion, Elk, Farmingion, Limestone, 
Madison, Monroe, Paint, Perry, Porter, Red Bank, Richland, Toby, and 
Washington. 

16. The town of C/anon was only laid out in 1840, and for its time 
has made considerable advances. It is a frch;h-looking, thriving 
place, on the turnpike leading from Bellefonte to Erie, and contains 
an elegant court-house, substantial prison, and an academy. It was 
incorporated in 1841, and is 187 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 285 of 
Philadelphia, and 75 N. of Pittsburg. 

17. Shippcnsville is a pleasant village on the turnpike, 7 miles west 
of Clarion. It contains 1 church, and is a place of some business. 

18. S'rattonville is also on the turnpike, 3 miles east of the county- 
seat, with 2 churches. It is in a thriving farming neighbourhood, 
and has a considerable trade. 

19. Though Clarion contains abundance of coal, limestone, and 
iron-ore, no part of its mineral wealth, except the latter, has yet been 
made productive. Iron-works of different kinds have been erected, 
and have added largely to the business, wealth, and population of the 
county. 

20. History. — The territory of this county was first settled about 
1801. It previously formed parts of Armstrong and Venango. It 
was erected into a separate county in 1839, taking the name of its 
main stream, and promises to become a populous and wealthy 
county. 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled Clarion? 

11. "What are their pursuits? 

12. Their productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is the county represented, 
and which is its judicial district? 



15. Name the toirnsJiips. 
10. Describe Clarion. 
17. StiippejisviUe. 
IH. StraUonvUk. 

10. Wliat is said of the mineral resources 
of Clarion ? 
20. Repeat its history, with dates. 



274 



STATE-BOOK OF* PENNSYLVANIA. 



VENANGO COUNTY. 



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1 Franklin. 

2 Utica. 

3 Cooperstown. 
, ^ ^1 4Perryville. 

• " N 5 Hickorytown. 

6 Teonesta. 

7 Wesley. 



1. Venango, a western county, is boimded E. by Jeffer- 
son, N. by Warren and Crawford, W. by Mercer, S. by 
Butler, and S. E. by Clarion. Jirea 850 square miles. 

2. There are no Mountains in the county, but it is very 
much broken into steep hills by the various water-courses. 

3. The Streams are, the Allegheny, winding through its 
centre, into which flow French and Oil creeks from the 
west, and Te-o-nes'ta from the east, with their branches, 
and other small streams. 

4. The Soil on the table-lands, between the streams, is 
good; along the river bottom it is very fertile; but on the 
steep and broken hill-sides it is of little value for tillage. 
About three-fourths of the county may be susceptible of 
cultivation, but it is better adapted for pasture than tillage. 

5. The Minerals are, iron-ore in great abundance, hi- 
tuminous coal in the southern, and limestone in the south- 
western part. 

6. Venango contains 16 townships, 
several villages. 



borough, 



and 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Venango ? 

2. Has it any mountains ? 

3. "Which are the streams? 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. The minerals. 



C. How many townships, boroughs, and 
viliag-es? 



SIXTH CLASS VENANGO. 



275 



7. The Borough is Franklin, the county-seat, at the 
junction of French creek and the Allegheny, with 595 in- 
habitants ; and the villages are, Ulicaj Cooper stown, 
Ilickory'town, Clinlonville, Perry vilkj Teonesta, and 
Wesley. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Franklin line of 
the Pennsylvania canal, from the Allegheny along the French 
creek to Meadville ; turnpikes from Franklin to Clarion, 
Meadville, Butler, and Warren ; and a large bridge over 
the Allegheny at Franklin. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 14,500 ; and 
the assesssed value of property, in 1845, was $1,109,403. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were from the older counties 
of the state, with some from New England. 

11. Their chief Employment is agriculture, with a large 
iron business, and some lumbering. 

12. Their Productions are, grain and live-stock, iron 
and lumber. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
124 common schools. 

14. Venango elects, with Clarion and Jefferson, 2 mem- 
bers to the House of Representatives, and, with Crawford, 
1 to the Senate of the state ; with Mercer and Crawford, 
I member of Congress ; and is in the sixth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Allegheny, Canal, Cherry-tree, Cornplantcr, 
Cranberry, French creek, Irwin, Oakland, Pinegrove, Plum, Richland, 
Rockland, Sandy creek, Scrubgrass, Sugar creek, and Teonesta. 

16. Franklin is placed on French creek, near its confluence with 
the Allegheny, and contains a stone court-house and jail, an aca- 
demy and 3 churches. It was laid out in 1795, and incorporated 
in 1828. It takes its name from Fort Franklin, which was erected 
within the bounds of the present town in 1787. It is a place of 
some business, and has a splendid bridge over the Allegheny, and 
one across French creek. It is 213 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 
310 N. W. of Philadelphia, 68 N. of Pittsburg, and 62 S. E. of Erie. 

17. The point of confluence of the French creek with the Alle- 
gheny has always been one of note and importance. Even before 
the whites took possession of this part of the continent, it had been 
occupied by an Indian town belonging to the Monseys, a tribe of 



7. Name them, and the county-seat. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. AVhat are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

lO! Who settled Venango? 

11. What are their main pursuits? 

12. Productions? 



13. Literar)- institutions? 

14. How is Venango represented, and 
which is its judicial district? 

15. Na7ne the townships. 

16. Describe Franklin. 

1 7. What is said of its posit ion ? 



276 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

the Delawares. The French erected a fort here about 1750, as one 
of a chain of posts intended to connect their Canadian possession 
with the Mississippi. It was finally abandoned and burned by them 
in 1759. In 1787, the United States government erected Fort Franic- 
lin at the same place. This was occupied till after Wayne's treaty 
at Fort Greenville put an end to all danger of Indian hostilities. 
And now it is the site of the town of Franklin, and the point where 
the state-canal intended to connect the Allegheny with Lake Erie, 
strikes the former. Thus, in war and in peace, by savages and 
civilized men, has it always been esteemed a commanding position. 

18. Utica, on French creek, and Cooperstown on Sugar creek, both 
7 miles from the count}^-seat, are flourishing villages, containing 
saw-mills, grist-mills, founderies, carding and woollen mills, &c. 

19. Only the southern part of Venango county lies in the great 
bituminous coal basin of the valley of the Ohio, whose rocks here 
dip towards the south and south-east. From its northern part, the 
coal-bearing strata of rocks seem to have been removed by some 
natural convulsion. This has exposed the strata next in order, 
which are similar to those forming most of the surface of the iron 
mountain counties. Hence that part of Venango is found to pos- 
sess abundance of iron-ore, and numerous works for its refinement 
and manufacture have alreadj- been established. 

20. History. — The greater part of the county was occupied by 
the Monscys, a band of the Delaware tribe, before the French visited 
it in 1749. In 1759. the latter abandoned their fort at the mouth of 
French creek, and their control over the Indians. About 1767, the 
Moravians, under Zeisberger, established a missionary station at 
Goshgoshunk on the Allegheny, near the mouth of the Teonesta, and 
afterwards further up the former stream, near the present Hickory- 
town. In 1770, they removed to Friedenstadt, in Beaver county. 
The county remained unoccupied from that time till 1792, except that, 
in 1787, the United States government erected a fort at Franklin. 
Settlers began to arrive from the older counties of the state, and 
some from New England, about 1790. Much confusion prevailed 
among them for some years, the claims of the large land com- 
panies and land owners, and those holding under donation titles 
from the state, coming into conflict with those of the actual settlers. 
The county was erected in 1800, taking the Indian name of the 
stream now called French creek. It had before been included in 
Lycoming and Allegheny. In 1805, it was finally organized for ju- 
dicial purposes, and in the same year, the disputes about land titles 
were terminated by the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Since that time, the construction of the Franklin line of 
canal, and the establishment of numerous iron-works, have very 
greatly promoted its settlement and improvement. In 1839, it lost 
some of its south-eastern territory by the formation of Clarion. 

18. Of Utica and Cooperstown ? I 20. Repeat its history, with dates. 

19. Of the mineral resources of the coimty? \ 



SIXTH CLASS — CRAWFORD. 



277 



CRAWFORD COUNTY. 




1. Crawford, a western county, is hounded E. by War- 
ren, N. by Erie, W. by Ohio, and S. by Mercer and 
Venango. Area^ 975 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains, but is generally undulating or 
rolling. 

3. The chief Streams are, the French creek ^ (formerly 
called Venango^) Conneauf^ Cassewaga, and the head- 
streams of the Shenango and Oil creeks. 

4. The Soil is generally fertile^ but a large part of it 
better adapted to grazing than the production of grain. 
The whole is fit either for farming or grazing. 

5. The Minerals of value are, some iron-ore and lime- 
marl. Little, if any, coal occurs. 

6. Crawford contains 28 townships^ 3 boroughs, and a 
number of growing villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Meadville, the seat of justice, on 
French creek, with 1319 inhabitants, Conneautville and 
Woodcock ; and the villages are Harmonshurg^ Centreville, 
ConneauUtown^ Pottersuille, Titusville, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the state-canal from 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Crawford? 

2. }Ias it any mountains? 

3. Name the streams. 

24 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. What are the minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 



278 



STATE-BOOK Of PENNSYLVANIA. 



Beaver to Erie, which crosses it from S. to N., the French 
creek feeder and Franklin line of state-canal, which con- 
nect the Erie canal at Conneaut with the Allegheny at the 
town of Franklin, and turnpikes to Erie, Mercer, and 
Franklin. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 31,724; and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, w^as $2,881,388. 

10. The county is generally peopled from the older 
parts of the state. 

11. Agriculture forms their chief Employment, and fur- 
nishes nearly all their productions. Maple sugar in con- 
siderable quantities is made. There are several saw, grain, 
paper, fulling, and oil-mills, and few distilleries. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 college, 1 aca- 
demy, and 264 common schools. 

13. Crawford elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, wath Venango, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
wuth Mercer and Venango, 1 member of Congress; and is 
in the sixth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Athens, Beaver, Bloomfield, Conneaut, Caa- 
sewaga, Fairfield, E. Fallowfield, W. Fallowfield, Greenwood, Hayficld, 
Mead, Oil creek, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Rome, Sadsbury, N. She- 
nango, S. Shenango, Sparta, Spring, Summerhill, Summit, Trvy, Venango, 
Vernon, Wayne, and Woodcock. 

15. Meadville is one of the pleasantest towns in north-western Penn- 
sylvania. It is seated on a beautiful flat on the east bank of French 
creek, and contains a number of handsome private residences. The 
streets are laid out at right angles, and the public buildings placed 
round a large square. They are, a spacious and substantial court- 
house, with a prison, a number of churches, an academy, and other 
edifices. It has also several paper-mills, an oil-mill, an edge-tool 
factory, and several other mills driven by the ample water-power of 
the vicinity. The town was commenced, in 1789, by David Mead, 
from whom it takes its name. It was about that time the site of a 
block-house built for protection against the Indians. It was incor- 
porated in 1823, and is 90 miles N. of Pittsburg, 37 S. of Erie, 237 
N. W. of Harrisburg, and 335 of Philadelphia. 

16. About a mile north of the town, on a commanding eminence, 
is situated Allegheny College, now belonging to the Pittsburg Confer- 



7. Name them, and llie county-seat. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Crawford ? 

11. What are their employment and 
productions ? 



12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is Crawford represented, and 
what is its judicial district ? 

14. Name the toumsfiips. 

15. Describe Meadville. 
IG. Allegheny college. 



SIXTH CLASS CRAWFORD. 279 



ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is a noble strncture, 
and the institution is in a flourishing condition. The number of 
students in all the departments is about 150. 

17. In the vicinity, there is also an arsenal for the preservation of 
the arms belonging to the state. It was erected in 1816, and is an 
ornament to the place. 

18. From the banks of Oil nrck; a species of oil exudes and may 
be seen on the surface of the water some distance down the stream. 
The oil is burned in lamps, and is also in some repute for its medi- 
cinal qualities. 

19. ConncaiU Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, about Smiles long 
and 2 wide. It has been converted into a basin or feeder for the state- 
canal, and its surface raised several feet by leading the water of 
French creek into the lake. Oil-creek Lake, and Sugar-creek Lake 
are also in Crawford county. 

20. The greater portion of Crawford is beyond the bituminous 
region of western Pennsylvania, but is admirable pasture-land. 
Much of it is, however, fertile wheat soil. The prosperity of the 
county will be undoubtedly promoted by the opening of the long- 
delayed Erie canal. 

21. History. — The Seneca Indians seem to have occupied this 
part of the state previous to 1748, when the French first visited it. 
The latter had control of it in their passages from Lake Erie to the 
Allegheny till 1758. After that time, it was uninhabited by white 
men till 1788, when a band of pioneers from Northumberland settled 
near the present town of Meadville. The State Land Law of 1792, 
regulating the terms of settlement and the claims of the large land 
companies, for some years prevented the rapid population of the 
county. The Indian hostilities, which took place about the same 
time, also had their effect in producing this state of things. In 1795, 
General Wayne's treaty with the Indians, after his successful cam- 
paign, removed the latter difficulty. In 1800, the county was sepa- 
rately established, being taken from Allegheny, and deriving its 
name from Col. William. Crawford, one of the defenders of the west- 
em frontier, who was burned by the Indians, at Sandusky, in 1782. 
In 1805, the Great Holland Company land case was decided, and 
soon after put an end to the controversies about titles. Since that 
period, the county has been steadily increasing in prosperity and 
population. 

22. Noted Citizeks. — David Mead, the founder of Meadville, 
seems also to have been, with his father who was killed by the In- 
dians, the first settler in the county. He died in 1816, aged 65. 
Robert E. Randolph, who died in 1830, aged 89, was among the first 
settlers. He was a native of New Jersey. He served his country 
during the Revolutionary war, and was at the battle of Germantown. 



17. The arsenal. 

18. Oil creek. 

19. Conneaut lake. 



20. What is said of the business of tha 
county? 

21. Repeat its history, with dates. 

22. Aame the noted citizens. 



280 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



BUTLER COUNTY. 




1. Butler, a western county, is bounded E. by Arm- 
strong and Clarion, N. by Venango, W. by Beaver and 
Mercer, and S. by Allegheny. Jlrea, 780 square miles. 

2. It presents neither mountains, nor any considerable 
hills. The surface is of a rolling or undulating character. 

3. No large Stream passes through this county, but the 
^//eg-/ie7?3/ touches its north-east and south-east corners. The 
creeks are, Con-e-que-nes' sing, Slippery-rock, and Muddy. 

4. The Soil is tolerably fertile, with very little waste 
land. A large portion of it is sandy, but in the south it is 
more loamy and of greater fertility. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, abundance of bituminous 
coal, iron-ore, limestone, and salt. 

6. It contains 17 toivjiships, 5 boroughs, and several 
villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Butler, the seat of justice, on 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Butler? 

2. Has it any mountains ? 

3. Name the streams. 

4. Describe the soil. 



5. The minerals. 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name them, and the county-seat. 



SIXTH CLASS — BUTLER. 



281 



Conequenessing creek, with 861 inhabitants, Harrnony^ 
Zelicnopley Prospect, and Portersville ; the villages are, 
Centreville, Woodville, Murrinsville, Summerville, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, graded roads, called 
" clay pikes," leading from Butler to Pittsburg, Mercer, 
Freeport, and Harmony. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 22,378 ; and, in 1845, 
the assessed property was $2,361,209. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were from the other parts of 
the state. Many Germans, Irish, and some Scotch have 
since taken up their residence. 

11. Their Pursuits are mainly agricultural, though a 
number are engaged in manufactures. 

12. The Productions are, grain and live-stock, with 
some wool and silk. There are several iron-furnaces, 
woollen factories, saw and oil-mills. Little lumber is sent 
to market. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
152 common schools. The spirit of education is increasing. 

14. Butler elects 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, with Allegheny, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Armstrong, Indiana, and Crawford, 1 member of 
Congress ; and is in the seventeenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Buffalo, Butler, N. Butler, Centre, Cherry, 
Clearfield, E. Conequenessing, W. Conequenessing, Cranberry, Donegal, 
Franklin, Mercer, Middlesex, Muddy creek, Parker, Slippery-rock, and 
Venango. 

16. The Tou'w o/ ^ttfZer occupies a high po,sition with an extensive 
prospect, near the centre of the county. It is a pleasant, quiet, 
coimty-seat, with the usual county buildings, of a plain substantial 
kind. It has 4 churches and an academy. It was laid out in 1800, 
and incorporated in 1817, taking its name from the county. It is 
30 miles N. of Pittsburg, 205 W. of Harrisburg, and 300 of Phila- 
delphia. 

17. Harmony, 14 miles S. W. of Butler, is a thriving village. It 
was founded by the German Society of Harmony, (who now reside 
at Economy in Beaver county,) in 1804, when they first settled in 
Pennsylvania. They sold their large estate here in 1814, for a con- 
siderable sum of money, and removed to Indiana, whence they re- 
turned to Beaver county in 1835. 



S. The public improvements. 

9. AVliat are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled Butler? 

11. W^hat are their pursuits? 

12. Productions? 

24^ 



13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is Butler represented, and 
what is its judicial district? 

15. Name the toivtuships. 
10. Describe the town of Butler. 
17. Harnwn'j. 



282 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

18. Zelienople is near Harmony on the Conequenessing, and 15 
miles from the county-town. It is a pleasant village, with over 
300 inhabitants. It is in a fertile region, abounding with coal, lime- 
stone, and iron-ore. 

19. Centreville is 14 miles N. W. of Butler, on the turnpike to 
Mercer. It is a thriving village, of recent growth, with near 300 in- 
habitants. 

20. This county possesses most of the elements of comfort and 
prosperity. The climate is salubrious, the waters are pure and 
abundant, and the soil is kindly and generally productive. It has 
also abundance of iron, coal, salt, and limestone. To these natural 
advantages, numerous manufactures have been added, consisting 
of iron-works, woollen factories, and flour, saw, and oil-mills. Some 
attention has also been paid to the production of wool and silk. 

21. The cultivation of the mulberry and the production of silk seem 
to form an employment very suitable to the population and climate 
of the greater portion of this state. The labour of feeding the silk- 
worms is light and pleasant, and can be chiefly performed by females 
and children, without material interruption to other business. The 
business, also, is one that can be commenced at little expense. A 
few mulberry-trees, some silk-worm eggs, and a book descriptive of 
the means of using them, are all that is needed. With this stock 
to begin with, the business can be enlarged to any extent, both the 
tree and the worm being of easy propagation. 

22. History. — A band of the Delaware tribe occupied the terri- 
tory of Butler before its settlement by the whites. Their village, 
about 10 miles N. W. of Butler, was called Kaska,sktttik\ This was 
in 1770, when the Moravians first visited the region. No perma- 
nent settlement was eflecied till 1792, when the law for the settle- 
ment of that part of the state, north and west of the Ohio and Alle- 
gheny rivers and Conewango creek, was passed. Though this law 
eflected the settlement of the county, which mainly took place about 
1796, it opened a wide door for imposition upon the real settlers by 
the land-jobbers, and produced numberless controversies. The 
county was taken off Allegheny in 1800, and named in honour of 
General Richard Butler, who fell at St. Clair's defeat in 1791. In 
1805, the United States Supreme Court settled the land controversies 
by which the improvement of the county had been retarded. Since 
that event, its increase in population and wealth has been slow but 
steady. 

23. Noted Citizens. — William Ayrcs was the first prothonotary 
of the courts, and afterwards filled several honourable stations. 
John Gilmore was long a citizen of Butler. He was at various times 
a member of the state legislature, and of Congress, and state 
treasurer. 

1%. Zelienople. I 21. 0/ the silk business? 

19. Centreville. 22. Repeat its history, with dates. 

20. Wiat is said of the resources of Butler? \ 23. Name the noted citizens. 



SIXTH CLASS BEAVER. 



283 



BEAVER COUNTY. 



1 Beaver. 

2 Bridgewatcr. 


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3 Fallston. 

4 Brighton. 


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6 Rochester. 


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7 Freedom. 


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8 Philipsburg. 


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10 Georgetown. 




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11 Hookstown. 


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12 Frankford. 


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in Darlington. 


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11 Ml. Jackson. 


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1. Beaver, a lossiern county, is bounded E. by Butlei 
and Allegheny, N. by Mercer, W. by Ohio and Virginia, 
and S. by Washington. Area^ 650 square miles. 

2. It has no Mountains, nor any considerable hills, ex- 
cept on the streams. The surface is generally rolling. 

3. The Rivers are, the Ohio^ which crosses the south 
part of the county ; in the north the Mahoning from Ohio, 
and the Shenango from Mercer unite and form the Beaver, 
which joins the Ohio at Beaver. The creeks are, Slippery 
Rock, Conequenessing, Racoon, and Little Beaver. 

4„ The Soil is fertile, particularly the river bottoms. 
It may all be called farm-land. 

5. The chief Minerals are, bituminous, with a bed of 
cannel coal, frequent strata of limestone, and some iron-ore, 

6. It contains 21 townships, 11 boroughs, and many 
thriving villages. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Beaver? 

2. Has it any mountains? 

3. Name the streams. 



4. Describe the soil. 

5. What are the minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs 
and villages ? 



284 



STATE-BOOK OP PENNSYLVANIA, 



7. The Boroughs are, Beaver, the seat of justice, on 
a high bank at the junction of the Beaver and Ohio, with 
551 inhabitants ; Mew Brighton, with 981 ; Brighton, 
Bridgewatci', Fallston, Freedom, Philipsburg, Dariington, 
Mount Jackson, Hookstown, and Frankfort-springs. The 
villages are, Sharon, Rochester, Economy, and Georgetown. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the state-canal along 
the Beaver and Shenango, connecting the Ohio with Erie 
harbour ; the Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the Sandy and 
Beaver canals, both connecting the Beaver with the Ohio 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 29,368. In 1845^ 
the assessed value of property was $4,073,824. 

10. The first Settlers w^ere from the other parts of 
the state, with recently some Germans and Irish. 

11. Their chief Occupations are agriculture, and a va- 
riety of manufactures. 

12. The Productions are those of a fertile agricultural 
district, to which have recently been added some silk and' 
wine, and various manufactured articles. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, an academy, 
2 female seminaries, and 160 common schools. Educa- 
tion is encouraged. 

14. Beaver elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and with Mercer, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Washington, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the 
seventeenth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Big Beaver, Little Beaver, N. Beaver, S. Beaver, 
Chippewa, Economy, Greene, Hanover, Hopewell, Marion, Moon, Ohio, Pat- 
terson, Perry, Racoon, Rochester, New Sewickley, N. Sewickley, Shenango, 
Slippery Rock, and Wayne. 

16. Beaver is an old-fashioned, quiet county-town. It has the usual 
court-house and jail, and 3 churches, built around a large open 
square, through which passes the long main street. It was laid out 
in 1791, and incorporated in 1802. It is 28 miles N. W. of Pittsburg, 
230 W. of Harrisburg, and 328 of Philadelphia. 

17. The cluster of towns at the mouth of Beaver v/as suddenly pro- 
duced by the -speculation of 1836. The design was to enlarge the 



7. Name them, with the county-seat. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

JO. Who settled Beaver? 

11. What are their occupations? 

12. Productions? 



13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is it represented, and which 
is the judicial district? 

15. Name the toivnships. 

lf>. Describe the town nf Beaver. 
17. What is said of the towns at the 
mouth of Beaver ? 



SIXTH CLASS BEAVER. 285 

whole into a city, to be called " Beaver." The hope of success was 
based on the position and water-power of the locality. But the pro- 
ject was pushed too fast, and failed. 

18. Ten miles further up the Ohio, on the same bank, is an in- 
stance of the success of the opposite system. This is Economy, the 
village of the Harmony Society. It was founded by George Rajip 
and his followers, from Germany. They first settled in Butler 
county, calling their place Harmony. The soil not suiting their 
flocks and vines, they removed to the Wabash, in Indiana, about 
1814. There they built a beautiful town, but the place proving un- 
healthy, they returned to- Pennsylvania, and finally settled where 
they now are, in 1825. They own about 3500 acres of land, M'hich, 
together with all their property, is held in common. They number 
about 400, and are not increasing, as marriage is discouraged, and 
few new members are admitted. Since their settlement at Economy, 
they have greatly improved their property and added to their wealth. 
They possess all the requisite buildings for the convenience of the 
society, with a large steam cotton and woollen factory, ilour-mill, 
and also a silk-factory. They pay much attention to the culture of 
the vine and Mulberry. In agriculture they excel, and are famous 
for their choice domestic animals. The whole is under the care of 
their patriarch, Rapp, who is their spiritual as well as temporal 
guide. They generally use the German language. 

19. This society is another proof of the certainty of slow, com- 
bined, and continued effort in overcoming obstacles, and accumu- 
lating wealth. But whether the result is a sufficient compensation 
to each member for the personal independence and domestic happi- 
ness sacrificed to attain it, he alone can tell. 

20. The first thing that strikes the mind on examining this county 
is its commanding position, as regards communication with the 
lakes, the interior of Ohio, and western Pennsylvania, and in fact 
the whole Ohio valley. These outlets must ultimately employ its 
immense, but now nearly idle water-power, and render it a great 
manufacturing point. Where water-power is absent, abundance of 
coal is found to form a cheap substitute, and the fertile soil of the 
county will feed almost any number of people who may engage in 
the various pursuits, fiir which it holds out so many inducements. 

21. History. — Zeisberger and other Moravians, who established a 
mission in 1770, were the first white settlers in Beaver county. 
The Indians who then frequented the region were the Six Nations, 
the Shawnees, and Delawares. The same year Washington ex- 
amined it to select land for the soldiers of the French war. In 
1778, Fort Mcintosh, near the present site of Beaver, v/as built. 
During the next 17 years, the county was so much infested by 
the Indians, as to be incapable of habitation. This state of things 
was ended by Wayne's treaty, in 1795. A rush of settlers then oc- 
curred, but the land titles of the north-west corner of the state had 
been rendered so intricate by previous legislation, and by the con- 



18. 0/ Economy? I 20. What, is sail of the position and rC' 

19. Of what is it a proof? sources of the. eoitnty '? 

I 21. Repeat its history, nuth dates. 



286 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



fiicting claims of the land companies and of individuals, that, for 
several years, its improvement was materially retarded. In 1800, 
the county was separately organized, taking its name from the river. 
It was previously embraced in Allegheny. In 1805, the land con- 
troversies were terminated by the decision of the Supreme Court of 
the United States. Since which time, and especially since the con- 
struction of the canals, its improvement has been steady. 

22. Noted Citizexs. — Ahner Lacock was one of the first settlers. 
He was self-taught, possessing scarcely the common rudiments of 
learning when he first appeared in the state legislature. He filled 
many honourable offices, among which was a seat in the Senate 
of the United States. George Rapp, of Economy, has already been 
noticed. He is now near 90, and one of the most remarkable men 
of his day. 



MERCER COUNTY. 




1. Merges, a western county, is hounded E. by Venango, 
N. by Crawford, W. by Ohio, S. by Beaver, and S. E, by 
Butler. Its area is 775 square miles. 

2. It contains no Mountains, and few large hills. The 
surface is generally undulating, but in some parts almost 
level. 

3. The Streams are, the Shenwigo, which traverses the 
county from north to south, with its chief branches JVes- 



22. Name the noted citizens. 
1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Mercer? 



2. Has it any mountains 1 

3. Name the streams. 



SIXTH CLASS — MERCER. 287 

han'nock on the east, and Py'ina-tii' -ning oni\\e west; the 
Ma-ho'-7iing{o\\c\\\iv^ the south-west corner, Slippery rock 
the south-east, and French creek the north-east. 

4. The Soil is generally fertile, that of the river-flats 
and the limestone land, in the southern part, beinp^ very 
productive. The whole county may be said to be sus- 
ceptible of tillage. 

5. The valuable Minerals are, Utuminous coal^ lime- 
stone, and considerable quantities oi iron-ore. 

6. Mercer contains 17 townships, 4 boroughs, and many 
flourishino^ villasfes. 

7. The Boroughs are, Mercer, the seat of justice, near 
Neshannock creek, with 781 inhabitants; A^ew Castle, with 
611 ; West Greenville, with 626, and Sharon. The villages 
are, Georgetown, Pulaski, JVew Bedford, Harlanshurg, &c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Erie canal, from 
Beaver to Erie, which follows the Shenango through the 
whole length of the county, and a turnpike from Pittsburg 
to Erie, through the county-town. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 32,873, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $3,733,742. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were mostly from the older 
counties of the state, with latterly many emigrants from 
Germany and Ireland. 

11. Their main Occupation is agriculture, and their 
productions are, large quantities of grain, especially of 
wheat, with numbers of horses, catde, and sheep. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, 1 fe- 
male seminary, and 214 common schools. 

13. Mercer elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Beaver, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Venango and Crawford, 1 member of Congress ; and 
is in the seventeenth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Coolspring, Delaware, French creek, Greene, 
Hickory, Lackawannock, Mahoning, Neshamiock, Pymatuning, Salem, 



i. Describe the soil. 

5. What are the minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name them, and the county town. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. "^Vhat are the population and pro- 
perty? 



10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are their occupation and 
productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is it represented, and which 
is its judicial district ? 

14. Name the toivnships. 



288 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

W. Salem, Sandy creek, Sandy lake, Shenango, Slippery rock, Springfield, 
and Wolf creek. 

15. Mercer, the county town, occupies an elevated position near 
the centre of the county. It has a public square, on which the 
court-house is erected. It also contains an academy, 5 churches, 
and a foundery. It was laid out in 1803, and incorporated in 1814, 
taking, with the county, the name of the gallant Mercer, who fell at 
Princeton in January, 1777. It is 238 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, 
336 N. W. of Philadelphia, 61 N. of Pittsburg, and 68 S. of Erie. 

16. Neto Castle is a flourishing town near the southern line of 
Mercer, at the junction of Shenango and Neshannock creeks, and 
on the Erie canal. It has abundance of coal, iron-ore, and water- 
power in the immediate vicinity, and promises to be a considerable 
town. It is already the seat of various manufactories, among which 
are 3 founderies, a furnace, rolling-mill, and nail factory, and seve- 
ral saw, flour, and oil-mills. It also contains 4 churches and a fe- 
male seminary. 

17. West Greenville, in the north-west part of the county, on the 
canal, is a rapidly improving town. It contains 5 churches. Being 
in the midst of valuable and extensive coal mines which are among 
the nearest to Lake Erie, when the canal to the town of Erie shall 
be fully in operation, there will no doubt be a large coal business 
done here, in addition to the other trade of the place. 

18. Mercer has heretofore been noted as one of the richest agri- 
cultural counties of the west. The quantity of wheat annually pro- 
duced is very great. But since the completion of the Erie canal, a 
new prospect opens to her. She will not only thus have a constant 
and cheap conveyance to market for the produce of her farms, but 
various useful manufactures will no doubt be called into existence, 
creating a profitable home market, and calling all her resources 
fully into action. 

19. HisTouT. — Mercer long remained a wilderness, but immedi- 
ately after peace and security were restored to the Indian frontier, 
in 1795, the southern part of it began to be peopled. The county 
was erected in 1800. About 1806, the settlements in the neighbour- 
hood of the town of Mercer, principally from Westmoreland, Wash- 
ington, and Allegheny, were made. Previous to that time, its pros- 
perity had, in common with the other north-western counties, been 
impeded by conflicting claims of title. But since the settlement of 
these, in 1805, it has rapidly improved. 

15. Describe the town of Mercer. I 18. Wkat is said of the resources of 

16. Newcastle. Mercer ? 

17. West Chreenville. I If- Repeat its history, with dates. 



SEVENTH CLASS PIKE. 



289 



SEVENTH CLASS. 



PIKE COUNTY. 



:n E w Y a K 



ir^iS'N. 




y. JERSEY V 



MONROE 



1 Milford. 

2 Dinpman. 
SBushville. 

4 DarlingsviUe. 

5 Tafton. 

6 Wilsonvllle. 

7 Mt. Maria. 



1. Pike, a north-eastern line county, is hounded N. E. by 
New York, N. W. by Wayne, S. W. by Monroe, and 
S. E. by New Jersey, ./irea 600 square miles. 

2. The county is high and uneven, rather than moun- 
tainous. A continuation of the Pokono mountain enters 
from Monroe on the south-west, and crosses towards the 
north-east. The highest point of it is called High Knoh. 

3. The Streams are, the Delaware^ dividing it from 
New York on the north-east, and New Jersey on the south- 
east, into which empty the Lack-a-waa/en^ (with its tribu- 
tary, the Waul- len-pau pack,) together with Bushkill, Sho- 
ho'la, and Sawkill creeks. 

1. What are the class, boundaries, and I 2. Its mountain* ? 
area of Pike? | 3. Streams? 

25 



290 



STATE-BOOK OP PENNSYLVANIA. 



4. The Soil of the alluvial flats, along the Delaware, is 
very fertile, but the greater part of the county, is thin and 
stony. Probably not more than one-half of it is susceptible 
of cultivation. 

5. No Minerals of much value have yet been dis- 
covered. 

6. Pike contains 8 townships^ 1 borough, and a few- 
small villages. 

7. The Borough is Milford, the seat of justice, near 
the Delaware, with about 400 inhabitants ; and the vil- 
lages are, Bushville^ Wilsonville^ Tafton^ Dingman, Mount 
Mariahy and Darlingville. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the Delaware and 
Hudson canal, along the Lackawaxen ; a turnpike from 
Milford to Owego, N. Y., and a large bridge over the Dela- 
ware at Milford. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 3,832, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, $670,403. 

10. The earliest Settlers were Hollanders, or Dutch, 
but the greater proportion of the people are now of New 
England or Pennsylvania origin, with some French, Ger- 
man, and Irish settlers. 

11. Their chief Employment is lumbering, though 
agriculture is on the increase. Their productions are large 
quantities of lumber, with some oats, rye, potatoes, and 
cattle. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies and 
23 common schools. 

13. Pike elects, with Wayne, 1 member to the House 
of Representatives ; with Monroe, Carbon, and Schuylkill, 
1 to the Senate of the state ; with Wayne, Monroe, Carbon, 
and Northampton, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the 
eleventh judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Delaware, Dingman, Greene, Lackawaxen, 
Lehman, Milford, Palmyra, and Wcsifall. 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. Townships, boroughs, and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages, 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 



10. Who settled Pike? 

11. What are their employments and 
productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is Pike represented, and 
which is the judicial district? 

14. Name the townships. 



SEVENTH CLASS PIKE. 291 

15. Milford is a small, quiet town, built mostly of wood, with a 
court-house, jail, 2 churches, and an academy. It was commenced 
about 1800, and became the seat of justice in 1814, and was so called 
from a ford in the Delaware near the town, at which the first mill 
in the county was erected. It is 119 miles N. of Philadelphia, 160 
N. E. of Harrisburcr, and 350 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

16. Wdsonvil/e is on the east side of the Waullenpaupack, at the 
point where that stream is crossed by the Milford and Owego turn- 
pike. It was the seat of justice of Wayne county before Pike was 
separated from it. About two miles east of Wilsonville is Taftan, 
a smart village of recent growth. 

17. Within the bounds of Pike county, two associations or colo- 
nies were established, a few years ago, on the principle of a com- 
munity of property and labour. One, called the "Sylvania Associa- 
tion," in the north-east part of the county, was formed principally 
by citizens of the city of New York. The other, called the <' Social 
Reform Unity," was in the south-west quarter of the county. Both 
have been abandoned. 

18. The population of Pike has not increased rapidly during the 
past ten years. This is probably owing to the fact, that it has nearly 
become stripped of its valuable lumber, and has not yet attracted 
the attention, to any great extent, of emigrants as an agricultural 
region. It still contains many large tracts of wild land, fit for tillage 
and pasture, that can be purchased at a low price; and, having the 
advantage of a healthful climate, with tolerable facilities for reach- 
ing market, the inducements presented to the settler are encouraging. 

19. The Falls of the Sawkill, little more than a mile south-west of 
Milford,* present a scene of singular wildness and beauty. The 
main fall is about 60 feet. Many other beautiful cascades are met 
in different parts of the county. 

20. HisTORT — The first white settlement within the present bounds 
of Pike were probably made by Hollanders, or Dutch, who crossed 
New Jersey from New York, then called New Netherlands, as early 
as 1680, if not before that time. They established themselves on 
the rich flats of the Delaware, near and below Milford. It is from 
these early settlers that many of the creeks have obtained the addi- 
tion to their names of " kill," which means creek in the Dutch lan- 
guage. Little increase was made to the population till towards the 
commencement of the present century, when the land came into 
request on account of its excellent lumber. In 1814, the county 
was separated from Wayne, under the name of the gallant Pike, who 
had a short time previously fallen in the attack upon York, now 
Toronto, in Upper Canada. In 1835, a portion of its territory, on 
the south, was included in the new county of Monroe. 

15. Describe Milford. I IS. Of the resources of Pike? 

i6. Wilsonville and Tnfton. \ 19. Of the FaUs of SawkiU? 

17. What is said of coitimon property \ 20. Repeat the history of Pikc^ with dales, 

associations? J 



292 



STATE-BOOK OF "PENNSYLVANIA. 



WAYNE COUNTY. 




1. Wayne, a north-eastern line county, is hounded E. and 
N. by New York, W. by Susquehanna and Luzerne, S. by 
Monroe, and S. E. by Pike. Aren^ 700 square miles. 

2. The chief Mountains are, Moosic, near the south- 
west boundary, and Mount Ararat, extending a short dis- 
tance towards the north-east. The general surface, though 
elevated, is not mountainous. 

3. The Streams are, the Delaware, dividing it on the 
east from New York, into which falls the Lack-a-wax' en , 
with its tributaries Dyherry, Middle, and Waul-len-pau'pack 
creeks, the latter dividing Wayne from Pike. In the north, 
are Sta-ruc'ca and E-quin-unkf creeks. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, and 
•»rea of Wayne ? 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 



SEVENTH CLASS WAYNE. 293 



4. The Soil is generally rough and stony. Much of it 
is productive, though generally better adapted for pasture 
than tillage. The greater part is yet covered with wood. 
Probably about two-thirds of it may ultimately be re- 
claimed. 

5. No Minerals of great value have been discovered 
in the county. 

6. Wayne contains 16 townships^ 4 boroughs, and a num- 
ber of small villages, 

7. The Boroughs are, Honesdale, the county-seat, on 
the Lackawaxen, with 1086 inhabitants, Bethany, Plea- 
sant Mount, and Prmnpton ; and the villages are, Clarkes- 
ville, Sterling, Stockport, Damascus, Starucca, Preston, ^c, 

8. The Public Improvements are, the works of the 
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, consisting of a 
railroad from Carbondale, in Luzerne, to Honesdale, and 
a canal from that place down the Lackawanna to the Dela- 
ware ; and turnpikes from Milford to Owego, from Cochec- 
ton to the Great Bend, from Easton to Belmont, and several 
others. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 11,848, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, $1,166,790. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were mostly of New England 
origin. 

11. Their chief Employments are, lumbering and agri- 
culture. 

12. The main Production is lumber, with live-stock 
and some grain. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies, 1 fe- 
male seminary, and 99 common schools. 

14. Wayne, with Pike, elects 1 member to the House 
of Representatives, and, with Wyoming and Susquehanna, 
1 to the Senate of the state ; with Northampton, Carbon, 
Monroe, and Pike, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the 
eleventh judicial district. 



4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

a The public improvements. 



25* 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 
la "Who settled Wayne? 

11. AVhat are their main employments ? 

12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How are they represented, and 
which i.s their judical district? 



294 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



15. The Townships are, Berlin^ Buckingham, Canaan, Cherry-ridge, 
■ Clinton, Dajuaf^rus, Dy berry, Lebanon, Manchester, Pleasant Mount, Pal' 
myra, Preston, Sale7)i, Scott, Sterling and Texas. 

16. Honesdale, at the junction of Dyberry creek with the Lacka- 
waxen, and of the railroad and canal of the Hudson and Delaware 
Company, is a large and groMdng town. It was laid out in 1826, 
incorporated in 1831, and became the county-seat in 1842, taking 
its name from Philip Hone, of New York, an early and prominent 
patron of the Hudson and Delaware canal. It contains the usual 
county buildings, 5 churches, an academy, and a female seminary. 
The houses are generally of wood, neatly painted, and many of them 
built according to the New England plan, with their ends to the 
street. During the year 1845, there were 273,435 tons of coal 
shipped on the canal at this place from the Carbondale mines for 
the New York market. It is 211 miles N. W. of New York, by the 
canal and Hudson river, 125 N. of Philadelphia, and 160 N. E. of 
Harrisburg. 

17. Bethany, XiW lately, the seat of justice, is 3^ miles N. of Hones- 
dale, on a hill. It contains 1 church and an academy, and is a 
pleasant place. Near it, are extensive works for the manufacture 
of window-glass. 

18. Wayne abounds with beautiful ponds, or small lakes. Each 
has its outlet to so^ue of the larger streams, atfording numerous 
saw-mill seats. 

19. Wallenpaupack Falls, in the south-eastern part of the county, 
deserves to be more known and visible than it is. The stream de- 
scends 150 feet in four successive falls within a mile and a half; 
one of the cataracts being 70 feet perpendicular. 

- 20. In the extreme northern part of the county, the Delaware ap- 
proaches the Susquehanna, in Susquehanna county, within 10 miles. 
In wet seasons, their small tributaries are said to unite. 

21. Lumber yet forms the chief wealth of Wayne. The principal 
kinds now sent to market are hemlock, pine, and beech. The last- 
named is so abundant, that many of the forests of this part of the 
state are called the " Beech icoods" 

22. History. — This part of the state seems to have been first set- 
tled in 1757, by adventurers from Connecticut. They were driven 
ofl' in 1761 by the authorities of the province, but afterwards returned, 
and proceeding further westward, made a permanent settlement in 
Wyoming. From that time, settlers slowly entered the county. In 
1798, it was organized out of part of Northampton, taking the name 
of the gallant General Wayne. In 1800, the county only contained 
800 inhabitants. In 1814, Pike was separated from it. About that 
time, turnpikes began to be constructed, and added considerably to 
its prosperity. This was greatly increased by the construction of 
the canal and railroad about 1826 ; since which event, little of inte- 
rest has transpired. 



15. Name the toivnships. 

16. Describe Honesdale. 

17. Bethany. 

18. What is said of ponds ? 

19. Of Waullenpaupack Falls ? 



20. Of the Delaware and Susquehanna ? 

21. Of lumber? 

22. Repeat the history of Wayne, ivith 
dates. 



SEVENTH CLASS SUSQUEHANNA. 



295 



SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY. 




1 

i 


\ 


IWA 


Y N E^ 


\-*== 


_1 Montrose. 

2 Harford. 

3 Dutidaff. 


1 


4 Sprinffville. 

5 Auburn. 

I'riendsvillc. 
7NewMilford. 

8 Groat Bend. 

9 Harmony. 



1. Susquehanna, a. northern line county, is bounded E. 
by Wayne, N. by New York, W. by Bradford, and S. by 
Wyoming and Luzerne. Area, 800 square miles. 

2. The chief Mountains are, Elk, in the eastern part ; 
Moosic in the south-east ; Mount Ararat, a spur of Moosic, 
in the north-east ; and the Oc-qua'go in the north. 

3. The Streams are, the Susquehanna, or JYorth Branch, 
which enters the north-east part of the county from New 
York, and then passes back into that state, forming what 
is called the "Great Bend." Lack-a-wan-na, Tunk-han'- 
nock, and Me-shop'pen creeks, are in the south ; Wy-a-lu'sing 
in the west ; and Saltlick, Snake, and Cho-co'nut in the north. 

4. The Soil, though not the most fertile, is productive 
of grass and the coarser grains. Little of it is mountainous. 
The hills are neither high nor abrupt. Probably four-fifths 
of it may be reclaimed for tillage or pasture. 

5. Few valuable Minerals are found. In the north- 
west, an impure limestone rock occurs. There are also 
some salt springs, or " licks." 

6. Susquehanna contains 22 toionships, 2 boroughs, and 
a number of thrivinjr villao^es. 

7. The Boroughs are, Montrose, the county-seat, near 



1 What are the class, boundaries, and 
area of Susquehanna? 
I Its mountains? 



3. Streams? 4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

0. Townsiiips, boroughs, and villages? 



296 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



the head of Wyalusmg creek, with 632 inhabitants, and 
Dundqff'j near Crystal lake ; the villages are, Harford^ 
Springville, Auburn, Friendsville, JYew Mil/brd, Great 
Bend, Harmony^ Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, turnpikes from Mon- 
trose to Wilkesbarre, Carbondale, and Owego in New 
York ; one from Harmony to Belmont, and another from 
Belmont to the Great Bend ; with several bridges. There 
are neither canals nor railroads. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 21 ,195, and the assessed 
value of property, in 1845, was $2,141,095. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were mostly from the eastern 
states. A number of Friends and others from the south- 
eastern counties have also established themselves. 

11. Their chief Employments are, agriculture and the 
raising of live-stock. Some are engaged in lumbering. 

12. The Productions are, oats, potatoes, grass, cattle, 
sheep, butter, qheese, wool ; some maple-sugar, and 
lumber. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies and 
200 common schools. 

14. Susquehanna, with Wyoming, elects 2 members to 
the House of Representatives, and with Wyoming and 
Wayne, 1 to the Senate of the state ; with Bradford and 
Tioga, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the eleventh judi- 
cial district. 

15. The Townships are, Auburn, BHdgewater, Brooklyn, Chocomit, 
Clifford, Dimock, Forest-lake, Franklin, Gibson, Great Bend, Harford, 
Harmony, Herrick, Jackson, Lenox, Liberty, Middletown, New Milford, 
Rush, Silver-lake, Springvillc, and Thompson. 

16. Montrose is pleasantly placed on an eminence near the sources 
of Wyalusing and Meshoppen creeks. It was laid out in 1811, 
incorporated in 1824, and takes its name from Dr. Robert H. Roi^c. 
The houses are mostly of wood, painted white, and the town resem- 
bles a neat New England village in appearance. It contains a 
court-house, county offices, prison, bank, academy, and 6 churches. 
Being at the junction of several leading roads, many stages daily 



7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty? 

10. Who settled the county' 

11. What are their employments? 



12. Productions? 

13. Literary institutions? 

14. How is the county represented, 
and which is the judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 
IG. Describe Montrose. 



SEVENTH CJjASS SUSQUEHANNA. 



297 



pass through it, in every direction. It is 165 miles N. of Philadel- 
phia, and 169 N. E. of Harrisburg. 

1 7. Dundajf is delightfully situated near Crystal lake, in the south- 
eastern part of the county. It contains 1 church, a glass factory, 
and 304 inhabitants. 

18. Great Bend is on an extensive flat on the bank of the Susque- 
hanna. It is a pleasant village, with a bridge across the river. 

19. Susquehanna is rapidly assuming its proper rank as a graz- 
ing county. It is too high and far north ever to be a very fertile 
wheat or corn district, but for the support of herds of horned cattle 
and llocks of sheep, it has peculiar advantages. Its pasture is 
abundant, its waters are copious and pure, and its climate is cool 
and healthful. Already, the amount of wool, cattle, butter, and cheese 
sent to market, indicate the true sources of its future wealth. 

20. Like the other north-eastern counties, Susquehanna is thickly 
studded with small lakes. One of the most beautiful is Silver lake, 
8 miles north of Montrose. It also contains a number of picturesque 
water-falls, among which that on Cascade creek, near the Great Bend, 
is much admired. 

21. The prospect from the summit of Elk mountain is one of the 
most extensive and varied in the state. Not only does it embrace 
the whole county of Susquehanna, but extends to the Kittatinny in 
the south, and the Kaatskill mountains in the east. 

22. History. — The first settlers in the county were Connecticut 
claimants, who began to ascend from Wyoming about 178.5. About 
1 790, John Nicholson, the comptroller of the state, and other great 
land speculators, took up immense tracts. The conflicting claims 
of these persons and of the Connecticut settlers, embarrassed the 
land titles for a length of time. The latter were settled in 1799 and 
1801, by the state laws enacted for the purpose. From that time, 
this part of the state slowly increased in population. In 1810, it 
was separated from Luzerne and became a county, taking the name 
of Susquehanna, from the fact that the river first enters the state 
within its borders. Little of interest has since occurred in its his- 
tory. Being out of the course of the great lines of state improve- 
ments, its citizens owe whatever of prosperity they enjoy to their 
own unaided efforts. The numerous turnpikes of the county show 
that, in so far as their means enable them, those efforts have been 
well-directed. 

23. Noted Citizens. — Dr. Robert H. Rose was a native of Chester 
county, but early settled in Susquehanna. He was a scholar, a 
poet, and a man of useful enterprise. He was the first to introduce 
the raising of sheep in northern Pennsylvania, at his large farm 
near Silver lake. He died in 1840. George Catlin, the well-known 
Indian painter and traveller, was born at Great Bend, in this county, 
where his father was one of the earliest settlers. 



17. Dundaff. 

18. Great Bend. 

19. What is said of the resources of the 
county ? 

20. Of the lakes? 



21. Of Elk mountain? 

22. Repeat the history of Sicsquehanna, 
with dates. 

23. Name the noted citizens. 



298 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



BRADFORD COUNTY. 




1. Bradford, a northern line county, is hounded E. by 
Susquehanna and Wyoming, N. by New York, W. by 
Tioga, and S. by Lycoming. Area^ 1170 square miles. 

2. It has no regular Mountain chains. Many large 
isolated spurs and hills of the Alleghenies are seen through- 
out the county, before the whole range finally disappears 
in New York. Its surface is consequently broken and 
rough. 

3. The Rivers Susquehanna (here called the JYorth 
Branch) and Tioga, (the lower part of which is called the 
Che-mung',) enter the county from New York, unite at 
Tioga Point, and flow south-eastwardly into Wyoming. 
Their tributaries are, Towanda, Wysox, Wyalusing, Sugar, 
and other creeks. 

4. The Soil is very uniform, the rock strata being 
nearly horizontal. It is chiefly of sandstone origin, with 
occasional slate and shale tracts, and a small quantity of 
limestone. It is only moderately fertile, except the alia- 
vial bottoms, but is very suitable for pasture. Nearly the 
whole area of Bradford is fit either for pasture or tillage. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Bradford ? 



2. Its mountains 
4. Soil? 



-3. Streams 



SEVENTH CLASS BRADFORD. 



299 



5. The valuable Minerals are, iron-ore^ some hitumi- 
nous coaly limestone, cind Jire-brick clay. 

6. It contains 31 townships, 3 boroughs, and several 
small villages. 

7. The Boroughs are, Towanda, the seat of justice, on 
the Susquehanna, with 912 inhabitants, Athens and Troy; 
and the villages are, Frenchville, Ulster, Burlington, Spring- 
ville, JYew Albany, Wyalusing, ^x. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the unfinished JVorth 
Branch canal ; a turnpike through the county from south to 
north, between Berwick and Elmira, New York ; and bridges 
across the Chemung and North Branch, at Athens, and one 
over the North Branch, at Towanda. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 32,769. The as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $3,075,784. 

10. The first Settlers were mostly of New England 
origin, and their chief pursuit has been that of lumbering, 
though agriculture is now more attended to than formerly. 

11. The Productions are, oats, potatoes, buckwheat, 
catde, and some wheat, corn, and maple-sugar. But the 
great article is lumber, there being over 200 saw-mills in 
the county. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 2 academies and 
247 common schools. Education is much cherished. 

13. Bradford elects 2 members to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and, with Tioga, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with Susquehanna and Tioga, 1 member of Congress; and 
is in the thirteenth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Albany, Armenia, Asijlum, Athens, Burling- 
ton, Canton, Columbia, Durcll, Franklin, Granville, Herrick, Leroy, Litch- 
jield, Monroe, Orwell, Pike, Ridgway, Rome, Sheshequin, Smithfeld, South 
creek, Spri7igfield, Sfringhill, Standing-stone, Towanda, Ulater, Warren, 
Welles, Windham, Wyalusing, and Wysox. 

15. Towanda is pleasantly seated on the west bank of the Susque- 
hanna, near the mouth of Towanda creek, from which it takes its 
name. Its white wooden houses give it a cheerful appearance. In 
addition to the usual county buildings, it has 3 churches, an aca- 



5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages ? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perly ''. 



10. AVho settled the county, and what 
are their pursuits? 

11. Their productions? 

12. Literary institutions? 

is. How is Bradford represented, and 
in what judicial district is it ? 

14. Name the townsliips. 

15. Describe Towanda. 



300 STATE-BOOK OF* PENNSYLVANIA . 



demy, and a bank. It was laid out in 1812 by William Means, from 
whom it was called Meansville till 1822, when it was incorporated 
as a borough by the name of Towanda. It is 163 miles N. from 
Harrisburg, and 180 N. W. from Philadelphia. 

16. Athens, on the isthmus between the Chemung and North 
Branch, about 2 miles above their confluence, is a delightful place. 
"Tioga Point," below the town, was the site of an old Indian town, 
and a noted station among the early traders. Athens was laid out 
about 1784, and incorporated in 1831. 

17. Frenchville and Asylum township, in which it is situated, were 
both so named from the fact, that a number of French emigrants 
here sought an asylum during the horrors of the French Revolution, 
in 1793. Some of their descendants remain, but many of the origi- 
nal exiles returned to France when order was restored. The build- 
ings have a different appearance from those of the other settlers. 

18. With a soil generally, though moderately fertile, enough coal 
for home consumption, and a healthful climate, Bradford must be- 
come one of the most flourishing of the northern pasture counties. 
The completion of the North Branch canal, or the construction of 
some other adequate outlet to market, seems to be all that is required 
to develope its varied resources. 

19. History. — l^forthern Pennsylvania belonged to the Six Nations 
of Indians when first visited by the whites. The upper Susquehanna 
was owned by the Cayugas, but was frequented by the Munseys, Mo- 
hicans, and other southern nations. In 1763, the Moravians, under 
Zeisberger, established a mission at Wyalusing. Next year, they built 
Freidenshuetten in the vicinity. Here they remained to the great 
benefit of the Indians till the Connecticut claim, among its other 
evil effects, so disturbed the country as to drive them and their con- 
verts further west. They removed to Freidenstadt, the Moravian 
station in Beaver county, in 1772. By the treaty of Fort Stanwix, 
of 1784, the whole Indian title to this part of Pennsylvania was 
finally extinguished in favour of the state. The permanent settle- 
ment of the county was then commenced by some of Genl. Sulli- 
van's men, who had become acquainted with the land during his 
expedition in 1779. A number of squatters from New York also 
seated themselves, with many New Englanders, at a later date. 
These all claimed under Connecticut. For several years, the im- 
provement of the county was much retarded by the conflicting 
claims of the two states, and some acts of violence were committed 
within its limits. During the same period, the settlers were harassed 
by the Indians, who returned for some years after Sullivan's expe- 
dition. In 1799, the controversy about the land titles was finally 
terminated, and improvement became more rapid. The county was 
taken from Luzerne and Lycoming in 1810, and called Ontario. In 
1812, its name was changed to Bradford in honour of William Brad- 
ford, of Philadelphia, attorney-general of the United States. 

W.Athens. I 18. What is said of the resources of Brad. 

17. Frenchtown and Asylum township. ford ? 

( 19. Repeat its history^ with dates. 



SEVENTH CLASS TIOGA. 



301 



TIOGA COUNTY. 




1. Tioga, a northern line county, is hounded E. by Brad- 
ford, N. by New York, W. by Potter, and S. by Clinton 
and Lycoming. Area^ 1100 square miles. 

2. It has no regular Mountains, but is rendered gene- 
rally uneven by the hills that skirt the Alleghenies. 

3. The Streams are, the Tioga river, which rises in the 
county, runs northward into New York, and finally unites 
with the North Branch, in Bradford, where it is called the 
Cfiemung; the Cow-a7i-es'que, in the north, failing into the 
Tioga, and the head-waters of Pine creek in the south. 

4. The Soil is the slate, shale, and sandstone, which is 
better for pasture than tillage. The river bottoms are 
very fertile. Nearly the whole is fit for pasture or tillage. 

5. The Minerals are, some valuable deposits of bitu- 
minous coal, iron-ore, and fire-clay, and small quantities 
of impure limestone and marl. 

6. Tioga contains 22 townships, 4 boroughs, and some 
pleasant villages. 



1. What are the class boundaries, I 3. Streams?— 4. Soil ? 
and area of Tioga? 5. Minerals? 

2. lis mountains? | 6. Townships, boroughs, and villages'* 

> 26 



302 



STATE-BOOK OF* PENNSYLVANIA. 



7. The Boroughs are, Wellsborough^ the seat of justice, 
near the centre of the county, with 369 inhabitants, Co- 
vington, Lawrenceville, and lioracetown ; and the villages 
are, Blossburg, Tioga, Furm,a7istown,Knoxville,JMixtoivn, ^c. 

8. The only Public Improvement is the Blosshurg and 
Corning railroad. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 15,498, and the as- 
sessed value of property, in 1845, was $1,394,449. 

10. The People are chiefly of New England origin, and 
their pursuits are lumbering, (there being 150 saw-mills in 
the county,) and agriculture. 

11. Their chief Productions are, large quantities of 
lumber, with live-stock, some coal, the coarser grains, 
maple-sugar, and potashes. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
136 common schools. Education is cherished. 

13. Tioga elects 1 member to the House of Representa- 
tives, and, with 'Bradford, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with Bradford and Susquehanna, 1 member of Congress ; 
and is in the thirteenth judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Eloss, Brookficld, Charleston, Chatham, Co- 
vington, Deerficld, Delmar, ElUand, Fannington, Gaines, Jackson, Law- 
rence, Liberty, Middlelmry, Morris, Richmond, Rutland, Shippen, Sullivan, 
Tioga, Union, and Westfield. 

lb. Wellsborough is pleasantly seated near the centre on the east 
and west state road. It contains 2 churches, an academy, an elegant 
stone court-house, and the other county buildings. The town exhi- 
bits much neatness and taste, was laid out in 1806, and incorporated 
in 1830. It takes its name from William Hills Wells, of Delaware, 
who took an active part in the improvement of the vicinity; and is 
145 miles N. of Harrisburg, and 215 N. W. of Philadelphia. 

16. Covington is a flourishing town on the Tioga. The state-road 
and the Blossburg railroad pass through it, aifording great facilities 
for business. Its lumber trade is considerable. 

17. Blossburg is further south, on the Tioga. Being in the northern 
edge of the bituminous coal formation, it promises to become a place 
of note. A railroad leads to Corning, in New York, a distance of 40 
miles, upon which 100 tons of coal are now daily transported. It 
has an iron-furnace, iron-ore being found near it, and at Mansfield. 



7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
aud villages. 

8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Tioga, and what are 
their pursuits? 

11. What are the productions ? 



12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is Tioga represented, and 
which is the judicial district? 

] 4. Name the toumships. 
15 Describe Wellsborough. 
10. Covington, 
17. Blossburg. 



SEVENTH CLASS — POTTER. 



303 



18. On the whole, the resources of Tioga are very considerable. 
With a healthful climate, a tolerably fertile soil, a sufficiency of iron 
for its own consumption, and of coal for exportation, and much 
valuable lumber yet remaining, it possesses most of the elements 
of comfort and prosperity. Like the other northern line counties, it 
will ultimately become a great pasture region. 

19. HisTouT. — The territory now composing Tioga remained un- 
occupied till 1796. About that time, the agents of Sir William 
Pultency, an Englishman who owned large tracts of land in the 
adjoining parts of New York, opened a road from the mouth of Ly- 
coming creek across Tioga into New York. This was called the 
"Block-house road," from a block or log-house, built to accommo- 
date the men engaged in the work. This enabled settlers, princi- 
]ially of New England origin, to enter the county, but the land-titles 
remaining doubtful for some years, owing to the Connecticut claim, 
the increase of population was slow. This obstacle was removed 
in 1801. In 1804, the county was separated from Lycoming, taking 
the name of its chief stream. From that event, nothing remarkable 
occurred till 1840, when the Blossburg railroad was completed, 
thus aiiording a new outlet for its resources. 



POTTER COUNTY. 




1 Coiidersport. 

2 Sweden. 

3 Clu'sterville. 

4 Millport. 



1. Potter, a northern line county, is bounded E. by 
Tioga, N. by New York, W. by McKean, and S. by Clin- 
ton. Jirea, 1100 square miles. 



18. What ii said of its T&^ourres ? 

19. Repeat its history, with dates. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Poller? 



304 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



2. Though composed of the highest table-land in the 
state, it has no regular Mountains. Its surface is gene- 
rally rolling. 

3. The Streams are, Sin-ne-ma-ho'ning and Kettle 
creeks in the south, flowing towards the West Branch ; 
Pine creek and Cow-an-es' que in the east, the former to- 
wards the West, and the latter the North Branch ; Geii- 
nes-see! in the north, towards Lake Ontario ; and the Alle- 
gheny^ with its tributary the Os-way'a^ in the west, towards 
the Ohio. 

4. The Soil is the usual slate and shale of the northern 
counties, and is first-rate grazing land. 

5. Few valuable Minerals occur in the northern and 
middle part of the county. Towards the south, some bitu- 
minous coal^ limestone^ and iron-ore have been found. 

6. Potter contains 20 townships, and a few villages or 
settlements. 

7. The Towns are, Coudersport, the seat of justice, on 
the Allegheny, with 400 inhabitants, with the hamlets 
of Sweden^ Chesterville, Millport, Sfc. 

8. The only Public Improvements are, the east and 
west state-road, which traverses the northern tier of coun- 
ties, and a turnpike from Jersey-shore, through Coudersport 
into New York. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 3371 ; and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $582,621. 

10. The People are from the eastern states and the 
older counties of Pennsylvania. 

11. Their chief Occupations are, lumbering and agri- 
culture, and their pi'oductions of a similar description. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy, and 
44 common schools. 

13. Potter, with Clinton and Lycoming, elects 2 mem- 
bers to the House of Representatives, and, with McKean, 
Elk, Warren, Jefferson, and Clarion, 1 to the Senate of 
the state ; with McKean, Elk, Jefferson, Clarion, Warren, 



2. Its mountains? 

3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, and villages. 

8. The public improvements. 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county ? 

11. What are their pursuits and pro- 
ductions ? 

12. Literary institutions? 

13. How is Potter represented, and 
what is its judicial district? 



SEVENTH CLASS — POTTER. 305 



and Erie, 1 member of Congress ; and is in the eighteenth 
judicial district. 

14. The Townships are, Alleghemj, Bingham, Clam, Etdalia, Genes- 
see, Harrison, Hebron, Hector, Homer, Jackson, Oswaya, Pike, Portage, 
Roulette, Sharon, Slcivardsoti, Sweden, Ulysses, West Branch, and Wharton. 

15. Coudersport is a small thriving village on the Allegheny, where 
it is crossed by the east and west state-road. It contains a handsome 
stone court-house, the other requisite county buildings, and an aca- 
demy. It was laid out in 1807, and takes its name from Samuel 
Couderc, an European friend of the proprietor, John Keating. It is 
175 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, and 245 N. W. of Philadelphia. 

16. There are, properly speaking, no other towns in the county. 
On the streams are a number of thriving settlements or scattered 
hamlets, to which generally the names of the toAvnships in which 
they are situated are given. 

17. Potter is )^et one of the most thinly settled counties in the state, 
but possesses considerable natural resources. In the southern part, 
some coal, iron-ore, and limestone have been discovered. The soil 
is generally kindly and tolerably fertile, and when it shall have been 
cleared of the heavy mass of timber that now covers most of the 
surface, it will form a rich pastoral region, 

18. HisToiiY. — Previous to 1808, this part of Pennsylvania was 
m a state of nature. In 1804, it was formed into a separate county, 
but was not organized for judicial purposes for many years after- 
wards. It previously formed part of Lycoming, and was named in 
honour of General James Potter, of the Revolutionary army. In 1809, 
John Keating, and other citizens of Philadelphia, who owned large 
tracts of lands in the county, caused the east and west road to be 
made for the purpose of opening the county to settlers, and offered 
other liberal inducements. Few, however, arrived for several years. 
About 1830, the growing demand for lumber added considerably to 
the population, but there are still room and support for thousands, 
where only hundreds have settled. 

14. Name the toivusliips. I 17. Of the resources of the con ))tij? 

15. Describe Coudersport. 18. Repeat the history of Potter, toitk 

16. What is said of the villages ? \ dates. 



26' 



306 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



M'KEAN COUNTY. 




1 Smethport. 

2 Teiitonia. 

3 Ginalsburg-. 

i Port Allegheny. 
5 Emporium. 
G Ceres. 

7 Keating'. 

8 Bradford. 



1. McKean, a northern line county, is bounded E. by 
Potter and Clinton, N. by New York, W. by Warren, and 
S. by Elk. Area^ 1100 square miles. 

2. There are no Mountains, but the county is rolling 
and hilly. 

3. The Streams are, the head-waters of the Allegheny, 
into which flow the Os-wa'ya in the east, the Tan-en-gu/ant 
in the north, and the Ken-ju'a in the west. In the south- 
west are some of the sources of the Clarion, and in the 
south-east, of the Driftwood branch of the Sinnemahoning. 

4. The Soil is the usual slate and shale lands of the 
northern counties, affording superior pasture. 

5. There are few valuable Minerals in the county. In 
the southern part, adjoining Elk, some bituminous coal and 
salt have been discovered, and in the same quarter there 
are probably limestone and iron-ore in small quantities. 



1. What arc the class, boundaries, and 
area of McKean ? 

2. Its mountains ? 



3. Streams? 

4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 



SEVENTH CLASS MCKEAN. 



307 



6. McKean contains 12 toivnshipSj and some small vil- 
lages, or rather settlements. 

7. The Towns are, Smethport, the seat of justice, on 
Potato creek, with 400 inhabitants, Teutonia^ Port Alle- 
ghemj^ Emporium^ Ceres, Keating, Bradford, Ginalsburg, ^'c. 

8. There are no Public Improvemknts of any conse- 
quence in the county, except the East and West road. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was about 2500, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $502,643. 

10. The Settlers are mostly from New England, New 
York, and the older counties of Pennsylvania. Some 
Germans have recently entered the county. 

11. Their main Pursuits are, lumbering and agricul- 
ture, and i\ie\x j)roductions similar. 

12. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
31 common schools. 

13. McKean, with Elk and Warren, elects 1 member to 
the House of Representatives, and, with Potter, Elk, Jeffer- 
son, Warren, and Clarion, 1 to the Senate of the state; 
with Potter, Elk, Jefferson, Clarion, Warren, and Erie, 
1 member of Congress; and is in the eighteenth judicial 
district. 

14. The Townships are, Bradford, Ceres, Corydon, Eldrcd, Hamilton, 
Hamlin, Keating, La Fayette, Liberty, Norwich, Sergeant, and Shippen. 

15. Smethport is situated at the confluence of Marvin and Potato 
creeks, and on the east and west road. It contains a brick court- 
house, and the other county buildino^s, an academy, 2 printing offices, 
with several mills of different kinds. It was laid out in 1807, but 
not permanently commenced till 1822. It is a pleasant village, 
named in honour of Theodore Smcthe, a European friend of John Keat- 
ing, the original proprietor of the ground; and is 210 miles N. W. 
of Harrisburg, and 280 N. W. of Philadelphia. 

16. Ceres, on the Allegheny, near the New York line in the north- 
east corner of the county, is a thriving settlement. It contains 
1 church and several mills, and has a considerable trade in lumber. 

17. Teutonia is a village in the middle part of the county, 5 miles 
S. E. of Smethport. It was founded by a German society, on the 
principle of community of property and labour, but did not succeed. 



6. How many townships and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat and vil- 
lages. 

S. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county? 

11. What are their employments and 
productions? 



12. The literary institutions? 

13. How is McKean represented, and 
what is its judicial district? 

14. Name the townships. 

15. Describe Smethport. 

16. Ceres. 

17. Tetitonia. 



308 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Ginalsburg, 4 miles E. of Teutonia, belongs to the same society, and 
is also a failure. 

18. At present, the chief wealth of McKean consists in its lumber, 
but when this shall be cleared oft', it will probably become a prosper- 
ous grazing county. Though wheat and corn do not succeed well 
generally, yet oats, potatoes, buckwheat, and grass are produced in 
large quantities. 

19. HisToiiY. — The greater part of McKean county was owned, 
before its settlement, by capitalists residing in Philadelphia, and 
other places at a distance, among whom were John Keating and 
Jacob Ridgway. Much of the land still belongs to them. The first 
settlement in the county was made about 1807, by an Englishman 
of the name of King, at Ceres, on the Oswaya creek. About 1816, 
the distant proprietors caused roads to be opened, in order to render 
their property productive, and induce settlers to buy the lands. The 
county, which had been separated from Lycoming in 1804, was not 
organized for judicial purposes till 1826. It was named in honour 
of Thomas McKean, governor and chief justice of the state. The 
population has since been slowly increasing, the great obstacle be- 
ing the want of roads. In 1831, the manufacture of salt was tried 
with success in Sergeant township. In 1843, the county was re- 
duced to its present* size by the formation of Elk. 



WARREN COUNTY. 




1 — 

I 

1 Warren. 

2 Piiiegrove. 

3 Sheffield. W 

4 Deerfield. 

a Youngsville. 
G Columbus. 

7 Lottsville. 

8 Sugargrove. Q 

o 



a^JS'W. 



1. Warren, a northern line county, is hounded E. by 
McKean, N. by New York, W. by Erie and Crawford, 
and S. by Venango and Jefferson. Jirea^ 800 square miles. 

18. What is said of the resources of \ 1 . What are the class, boundaries, and 

Kfinn? 



McKean i 
19. Repeat its history^ ivith dates. 



area of Warren ? 



SEVENTH CLASS WARREN. 



309 



2. There are no Mountains, but the general surface is 
hilly, and in some parts broken and rocky. 

3. The Streams are, the Allegheny river, passing from 
the north-east to the south-west corner of the county, into 
which fall the Con-e-wan'go and Brokenstraw on the west, 
and the Te-o-nes'ta and Ken-ju'a on the east. 

4. The Soil along the New York line is generally of 
good quality. A portion of the rest of the county is very 
stony and broken ; but along most of the streams are ex- 
tensive flats of oreat fertilitv. 

5. Few valuable Minerals have yet been discovered. 

6. Warren contains 16 toionships, 1 borough,- and seve- 
ral stirring villages. 

7. The Borough is Warren, the seat of justice, on the 
Allegheny, with 737 inhabitants; and the •villages are, 
Pinegrove, Sugar-grove, Sheffield, Deerfield, Youngsville, 
Columbus, Lottsville, Sfc. 

8. The Public Improvements are, a turnpike from 
Warren to Franklin in Venango, and one to Ridgeway in 
Elk ; and a fine bndge over the Allegheny at Warren. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 9,278 ; and, in 1845, 
the assessed value o^ property was $915,739. 

10. The FIRST Settlers were mostly of New England 
origin, with ^orae from the older counties of this state. 

• 11. Their chief Employment is lumbering, with agri- 
culture, the latter being on the increase. 

12. Their Productions are, immense quantities of the 
finest lumber, and enough grain for home consumption. 
Some live-stock is also raised. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 1 academy and 
86 common schools. 

14. Warren, with McKean and Elk, elects 1 member to 
the House of Representatives, and, with Clarion, Jefferson, 
Elk, McKean, and Potter, 1 to the Senate of the state ; 
with Erie, Clarion, Jefferson, Elk, McKean, and Potter, 
1 member of Congress ; and is in the sixth judicial district. 



2. The mountains ? 

3. Streams? — 4. Soil? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
ami villages. 

8 The public*' imjirovements. 



9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled Warren? 

11. What are their employments? 

12. Productions? 

13. Tiiterary institutions? 

M. How is Warren represented, and 
what is ihe judicial district? 



310 STATE-BOOK o/ 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



15. The Townships are, Brokenstraiv, Columbus, Conewango, Deer- 
field, Eldred, Elk, Freehold, Glade, Kenjua, Limestone, Pinegrove, Plea- 
sant, Sheffield, South-west, Spring-creek, and Sugar-grove. 

16. Warren is built on the bank of the Allegheny, just below the 
mouth of Conewango creek. It is a delightful situation, and the 
town itself a pleasant and growing place. Around the large square, 
near its centre, are placed the public buildings, among which are 
the court-house, jail, and academy. It also contains 3 churches, 
and has a noble bridge over the Allegheny. It became the seat of 
justice in 1819, and was incorporated in 1832; taking, with the 
county, the name of the brave and amiable Warren, who fell at 
Bunker's hill. It is 250 N. W. of Harrisburg, 330 N. W. of Philadel- 
phia, and 120 N. E. of Pittsburg. 

17. Pinegrove is a thriving village of about 300 inhabitants, on the 
ConewangQ, 7 miles above Warren. It contains a number of mills. 

18. Youngsville, on the Big Brokenstraw, 3 miles from the Alle- 
gheny, is a busy village. It contains 1 church, and is in a fertile 
and well-cultivated vicinity. 

19. Seventeen miles above Warren, on the western bank of the 
Allegheny, and near the state-line, was the residence of Cornplanter, 
the Seneca chief. His Indian name Avas Ga-nio-di'euh, or handsome 
lake. He was borji on the Genessee, in New York, about 1732. 
After taking part with the French against the British, till the former 
were expelled from this part of the continent, he then sided with 
the British against the colonists during the Revolution. When 
independence was established, he made peace with the United 
States, and by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, in 1784, induced the Six 
Nations to convey all their remaining lands in Pennsylvania to the 
state, reserving a number of tracts in New York for his Nation, and 
the one, on which he spent the rest of his life, in Pennsylvania, for 
himself. From that time, he never took any part in hostilities 
against the whites, but remained on his farm, exerting himself to 
keep the Indians at peace. He died in 1836, being then, according 
to his own account, over 100 years of age, and the last Indian chief 
in Pennsylvania. His village was called Jen-ne-se-da'ga. 

20. Lumber is still the great staple of Warren county, the quality 
of its timber being very superior. The facilities for getting it out, 
presented by the numerous branches of the Allegheny, and the 
choice of market among the towns of the Ohio and Mississippi, 
offer great inducements for prosecuting this business. The conse- 
quence, probably, will be, that a few years will clear Warren of its 
forests. It will then become, like the other northern counties, in a 
great measure a pasture district. But, having numerous fertile 
tracts of land, especially on the river flats, it will also be to some 
extent a grain-growing county. It is rapidly increasing in popula- 
tion and wealth, having doubled its number of inhabitants within 
the ten years between 1830 and 1840. 

21. HisTonx. — The territory embraced in north-western Pennsyl- 
vania and western New York, was occupied by the Six Nations 

15. Name the townships. I 18. Youngsville. 

16. Describe the town of Warren. 19. What is said of Cornplanter ? 

17. Pinegrove. \ 20. Of the resources of Warren? 



SEVENTH CLASS — ERIE. 



311 



of Indians, when it first became known to Europeans. The part 
now constituting Warren belonged to the Semca tribe of that con- 
federacy. It remained unsettled till Wayne's treaty in 1795. Some 
Scotch-Irishmen started from Philadelphia about that time, and 
ascending the West Branch of the Susquehanna and the Sinnema- 
honing, crossed McKean county till they struck the waters of the 
Allegheny. Sailing down that river till they entered the present 
county of Warren, they finally niade the first settlement within its 
bounds. Their names were Kobert Miles, John Russel, John and 
Hugh Marsh, John Frew, and Isaiah Jones. They established them- 
selves in the northern part of the county. They do not seem to 
have been followed by many others for some years. In 1800, War- 
ren was separated from Lycoming, but was not organized for judi- 
cial purposes till 1819, having before that period been attached to 
Venango. In the mean time, settlers, mostly of New England origin, 
slowly arrived ; but, for several years, the prosperity of the county, 
in common with the rest of north-western Pennsylvania, was greatly 
retarded by the difficulties growing out of the land law of 1792, and 
the claims of the land companies. The greatly increased demand 
for lumber between 1830 and 1840, brought the pine lands of Warren 
into notice, and added largely to its population and business. The 
failure of the Lumberman's Bank of Warren, about 1838, tended 
materially to arrest this career of prosperity. But the county is now 
recovering her energies, and must soon become a flourishing part 
of the state. 



ERIE COUNTY. 




1. EpaE, the north-western line county, is hounded E. by 
Warren and New York, N. and N. W. by Lake Erie and 



21. Repeat its history, with dates. 



1. What are the class, boundaries, 
and area of Erie ? 



312 



STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



New York, W. by Ohio, and S. by Crawford. Area^ 
720 square miles. 

2. There are no Mountains in the county. A ridge of 
high land, parallel with Lake Erie, traverses it about 
8 miles from the lake. 

3. The chief Streams are, the head-waters of French 
creek, which joins the Allegheny at Franklin ; Con-ne-aut' , 
Elkj Walnut, and other small creeks emptying into the 
lake. 

4. The Soil is fertile, being chiefly clay, shale, and 
slate land. 

5. The Minerals are neither numerous nor very valu- 
able. Some iron-ore is found. 

6. Erie contains 20 townships, 6 boroughs, and several 
thriving villages. 

7. 'i'he Boroughs are, Erie, the seat of justice, on Erie 
harbour, with ^ population of 3412, JVaterford, Girard, 
JYorth East, Edinhoro, and Wattsburg ; and the villages 
are, Fairview, Springfield, Wesley ville, Juliet, ^c. 

8. The Public Improvements are, the state-canal, con- 
necting Erie with the Ohio at Beaver, and the Allegheny 
at Franklin ; and a turnpike to Pittsburg. 

9. The Population, in 1840, was 31,344, and the 
assessed value of property, in 1845, was $3,426,588. 

10. The People are mostly of New England origin, 
though many are from other parts of Pennsylvania. 

11. Their chief Occupation is agriculture. 

12. The Productions are, grai7i of all kinds, cattle, 
butter, and cheese ; lumber, potash, and maple-sugar. Be- 
sides many grain-mills, there are several fulling-mills and 
tanneries, 1 iron-furnace, and several founderies. 

13. The Literary Institutions are, 3 academies, 1 fe- 
male seminary, and 250 common schools. Education is 
much attended to. 



2. Has it any mountains? 

3. AVhat are tlie streams ? 

4. The soil ? 

5. Minerals? 

6. How many townships, boroughs, 
and villages? 

7. Name the county-seat, boroughs, 
and villages. 



8. The public improvements. 

9. What are the population and pro- 
perty ? 

10. Who settled the county? 

11. What is their chief occupation? 

12. Their productions ? 

13. Literary institutions? 



SEVENTH CLASS ERIE. 313 



14. Erie elects 2 members to the House of Representa- 
tives, and I to the Senate of the state ; Avith Warren, 
McKean, Potter, Elk, Jefferson, and Clarion, 1 member 
of Congress; and is in the sixth judicial district. 

15. The Townships are, Jlmlfy, Concord, Conncaut, Elk creek, Fair- 
view, F7-ankUn, Girard, Greene, Greenfield, Harbor creek, Lehccuf, McKean, 
Mill creek, North East, Springfield, Union, Venango, Waterford, Washing- 
ton, and Wayne. 

16. The town of Erie is delightfully placed on the lake, opposite 
the peninsula of Presqu'isle, which forms the harbour. It was laid 
out in 1795, and incorporated in 1805. The chief buildings are, the 
court-house, jail, market-house, bank, a splendid hotel, 8 churches, 
an academy, and female seminary. Its trade is already consider- 
able; and now that the long expected canal is completed, there is 
every prospect of a large increase. It is 120 miles N. of Pittsburg, 
275 N. W. of Harrisburg, and 373 N. W. of Philadelphia. 

17. The Harbour is the largest, best, and only safe natural one on 
the lake. Since the first discovery of the county by the whites, it 
has been a place of importance. In the fortified route by which the 
early French sought to connect their possessions on the Mississippi 
with Quebec, it was the first point where their soldiers and traders 
left the chain of lakes. Passing overland from Fort Presqu'isle to 
Fort Le Boeuf, (now Waterford,) they proceeded by Venango, or 
French creek, to Fort Venango, (now Franklin,) and thence down 
the Allegheny till they struck the Ohio at Fort Duquesne, (now Pitts- 
burg.) Its commanding and increased facilities must still render it 
a key point in the enlarged trade and travel of the present day. 

18. The Peninsula belongs to the United States government, which 
has expended large sums in improving and fortifying the harbour, 
and erecting a lighthouse. 

19. Waterford, 13 miles S. E. from Erie, on the turnpike to Pitts- 
burg and near Lake Le Boeuf, has 403 inhabitants ; North East, 
16 miles N. E. from Erie, has 339. 

20. The Lake Eidge divides the waters that flow into the Gulf of 
Mexico from those that reach that of the St. Lawrence. The soil on the 
west of it is more fertile in grain than that on the east, which is bet- 
ter for grass. 

21. Erie contains 3 small but beautiful lakes, Con-tic-aut-tee' , 
Le Banif, and Pleasant. 

22. Erie, being now in a great measure cleared and settled, has 
taken her proper rank in the state with reference to her resources. 
She is a pasture and farming county. The former branch of agri- 
cultural business better suits the portion of her soil south-east of^he 
Lake Ridge, than the raising of grain. But the part next the lake 
is first-rate wheat and corn land. In addition to the productions of 



14. How is Erie represented, and what 
s its judicial district? 

15. Name the townships. 

16. Describe the town of Erie. 

17. The harbour. 



18. What is said of the peninsula : 

19. Of Waterford? 

20. Of the Lake ridge ? 

21. Of the lakes? 

22. Qfthe resources of the county ? 



21 



314 STATE-BOOK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

her soil, her position on the lake and on the state-canal, bestows 
upon her citizens the profits and advantages of a commerce that 
must constantly increase. 

23. Histoht. — When the white man appeared in what is now 
Erie, and the adjoining counties, it was held by the Six Nations of 
Indians. The French were the first actual white occupants. It was 
to Le Boeuf, one of their posts, that General, then Major Washington, 
was despatched, in his twenty-first year, with only three white com- 
panions, on a mission to the commandant, by Gov. Dinwiddle of Vir- 
ginia. This was in 1753. In 1763, Presgu'isle, then held by the 
English, was, with many other forts, surprised by the Indians, in 
execution of the grand designs of the celebrated chief Pontiac. Pre- 
vious to 1789, there were few settlers in Erie. In that year, the. 
triangle of land, forming its northern part and lying beyond the ori- 
ginal line of the state, was purchased from the Indians, and in 1793 
from the United States by Pennsylvania, $151,640 25 continental 
money having been paid to the United States. This was a most 
important acquisition, as it embraced the harbour of Erie. In 1796, 
Genl. Wayne died at Erie, after his successful campaigns against 
the Indians, and was buried near the blockhouse, whence his re- 
mains were afterwards removed to Chester county. In 1800, Erie 
was erected into a separate county with its present boundaries, tak- 
ing its name from the lake. Previously it formed part of Allegheny. 
During the summer of 1813, in the short space of 70 days, at Erie, 
was built the fleet which, on the 10th of the following September, 
achieved the victory that immortalized the name of Perry, and gave 
his country the mastery of the lake. After the war, for some years 
the improvement of the county was slow. In 1818, the first steam- 
boat appeared on the lake. Since 1825, when the project of con- 
necting Erie with Philadelphia by canal was broached, the county 
has rapidly increased, especially at periods when the completion of 
the public works seemed to be at hand. 

24. Noted Citizens. — William Miles, stiW living, resided in North- 
umberland county in the early part of the Revolutionary war. He 
was there captured by the Indians in 1778, and carried into Canada. 
He was released at the close of the war, and on his return settled in 
this county, of which he was one of the very first settlers. He has 
resided in the county ever since. Col. John Reed was the first per- 
manent inhabitant of the town of Erie. 



23. Repeat its history, with dates. J 24. Name the noted citizens. 



THE END. 



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BT£KBOm>ED BT I. JOHNSON & CO. 
THILADEIPHIA. 



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